Parts Of UK Smashed By Giant Hailstones The Size Of 'Golf Balls'

Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge said the level of lightning could be 'quite intense'.

He said: "We could see very large hail which could easily cause impact and obviously with any thunderstorms we could see those systems producing 30-60mm of rain within an hour or two.

"The thunderstorms we've got developing are purely because of the heat so they're not likely to affect the heat in any way."

Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud also warned that there could be flooding in some parts of the country.

He said: "We have issued some new amber thunderstorm warnings for parts of south-east London, down to parts of Essex and Kent.

"There is also one in place for areas surrounding Cambridgeshire.

"We're seeing some fairly heavy showers developing during the afternoon along with reports of lightning and hail.

"There will be some intense spells of heavy rainfall as the afternoon develops and some slow-moving downpours, some places will see it, others won't at all.

"There may be some localised flooding issues as a fair amount of rain will fall - meaning possible delays to public transport, power cuts and potentially surface flooding."

And their predictions seem to have come true, with footage shared on social media showing massive hailstones falling from the sky and causing a huge amount of damage for some.

One of those affected was TV chef Jamie Oliver, who was filming a new Christmas special when the thunderstorm struck.

In posts to his Instagram account, the 46-year-old showed his followers how the weather had changed dramatically in the space of just 15 minutes, from 'the hottest day of the year' to the exact opposite.

The storm got so intense that it actually damaged the production set, with equipment and rigging seen lying in a heap on the floor.

And even a member of the crew suffered injuries to his leg as a result of the monster balls of ice.

Others shared their utter disbelief at witnessing such a ferocious hailstorm in the middle of July, during what has been the hottest week of the year for many.

Writing on Twitter, one person said: "Just had a burst over laindon essex I kid you not the hailstones were big as house bricks lol."

Another commented: "Hailstones WTF!! But finally it's cooling down in the city!!!!"

"Hailstones. Really?" asked a third.

While yet another added: "This is England in a nutshell, 30 degree scorching heat and now Thunder and Hailstones the size of golf balls within an hour of each other."