Met Office issues amber weather alert as hail, lightning and floods hits the UK

The Met Office has declared an amber weather warning as hail, thunder, lightning and floods begin to hit southern England.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms have started and the alert arrives less than 24 hours after they issued one of its new-style extreme heat weather warnings.

The change in weather may lead to localised flooding and travel disruption.

Already, parts of London, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk have seen the conditions switch.

Kent has also seen the weather turn - and even Ebbsfleet United's pre-season friendly game with Colchester United has been cancelled due to the storm.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to persist for two to three hours in some areas.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms have already hit Cambridge (James Linsell-Clark/ SWNS James Linsell-Clark/ SWNS)

Hail, frequent lightning and gusty winds are also expected.

They have told of what to expect, warning that "flooding of homes and businesses is likely and could happen quickly".

The Met Office went on: "Spray and sudden flooding probably leading to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.

"Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, delays and some cancellations to train and bus services are likely.

Heavy rain in Billericay, Essex, had locals running for cover (PA)

"Power cuts likely to occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.

A few places may see 40 to 60 mm of rain within two hours.

It comes less than a day after The Met Office issued one of its new-style extreme heat weather warnings for the very first time.

Large parts of Wales, all of south-west England and parts of southern and central England were told to be alert.

Now a new amber alert has been sounded by the Met Office (Met Office)

It will be in place until Thursday, when temperatures are expected to peak.

The alert warns of the potential impact of the heat on people's health, as the UK experiences a prolonged period of sweltering conditions.

The hottest day of the year was recorded over the weekend, and forecasters warned temperatures would continue to climb.

It was time for brollies in Cambridgeshire earlier on (James Linsell-Clark/ SWNS James Linsell-Clark/ SWNS)

London was hit with severe flooding just last week (LUANA via REUTERS)

Steven Ramsdale, from the Met Office, said: "The high temperatures are going to continue through a large part of this week.

"Many areas will continue to reach heatwave thresholds but the amber extreme heat warning focuses on western areas where the most unusually high temperatures are likely to persist."

The UK's highest temperature of 2021 so far was recorded on Sunday at Heathrow, where it reached 31.6C.