A woman thought she was “under attack” or had been “shot by a paintball gun” after golf ball-sized hail stones pelted her.
Sandra Potts was left dealing with the aftermath of a freak storm that left her and her car being pelted by massive hail stone and flooded parts of her home.
She was left “shaken up” by the severe weather that struck near Leicester, LeicestershireLive reports.
As the rest of the country and county was baking in nearly 30 degree sun, the storm struck.
Sandra had just returned from dropping off her 83-year-old mum at around 6pm when the freak storm hit.
Not knowing what was happening, Sandra said it sounded like she was being shot at.
She said, "As I drove back into Kibworth, I thought I was under attack, I could feel myself jumping in the car. I was just really frightened at first.
Her car was left with nearly one hundred dents.
"I immediately scrunched down in the car thinking that something was going to come through roof or smash the window.
"It might sound dramatic now but it was the last thing I was expecting at this time of year. It took me by surprise."
When Sandra finally managed to drive back to her road, the water was a foot deep and she couldn’t park.
Feeling trapped in her car she said: "I just sat there thinking what am I going to do?"
Realising her distress as she parked up nearby, a neighbour wearing a hard hat braved the storm to offer her assistance inside.
Sandra added, "It was only then that I saw just how big the hail was and a golf ball-sized pellet came crashing into my arm.
"It felt like I had been shot by a paintball gun or something. It cut the skin and has left me with a bit of a nasty bruise."
Sandra then moved safely indoors and then watched in disbelief as her summer garden was completely flooded.
"My whole garden just looked submerged underwater and there was nothing we could do."
Sandra's car was also left with around 100 dents in the bodywork from the hail.
"The roof and the bonnet just looks like it was attacked by machine gun fire and my garden now looks like it's been hit by a tidal wave," she said.
The street outside Sandra's home was also flooded and when the sun came out hours later, it brought up a deluge of debris from the drains.
"There was toilet paper and sanitary towels in the streets which had been brought up so my neighbours and I all pitched in to clean up after the storm."
Once the hail had stopped, Sharon and her husband secured railway sleeps around their neighbour's drive to help stop anymore water leaking in.
"We're of course still dealing with the aftermath but the community has been amazing throughout," she added.
"We all pitched in to help and made sure our elderly neighbours where safe. I think we're going to be dealing with repairs and damages for quite some time."
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