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Eastbourne sees 1,000 lightning strikes in one hour

Jamie Evans EastbourneJamie Evans
About 1,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the Eastbourne area in one hour

Some 1,000 lightning strikes illuminated the skies above Eastbourne as torrential rain and thunderstorms lashed part of the UK overnight.

Storms lit up the East Sussex seaside town for about an hour, while 42mm of rain fell further north in Lenham in Kent.

Homes were left without power and roads were flooded in other parts of south-east England. A yellow weather warning is in place for the region and East Anglia until 21:00 BST.

Sarah Rook RyeSarah Rook
The town of Rye was also illuminated by the storms
David Christie DealDavid Christie
David Christie took this spectacular shot of the sea at Deal
EyeOnTheSky EastbourneEyeOnTheSky
Eastbourne as taken by BBC Weather Watcher EyeOnTheSky
Jerrylee St LeonardsJerrylee
Fellow Weather Watcher Jerrylee snapped this view over St Leonards

"We've had some heavy, thundery showers overnight," said meteorologist Alex Burkill.

"There has been some flooding near Eastbourne and some power cuts.

"We are going to see some further heavy showers heading towards Kent, and south-east parts of the UK will see some heavy thunderstorms through the morning, while isolated ones could develop this afternoon."

David Christie DealDavid Christie
A purple hue was captured over Deal's pier
Neil Newby Beachy HeadNeil Newby
The view of the English Channel from Beachy Head in East Sussex
John Smiddy Smith RamsgateJohn Smiddy Smith
Ramsgate also saw lightning as the storms moved across the south-east of England and East Anglia

'Lightning strike fire destroyed my roof'

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England's Big Picture

DannyM DitchlingDannyM
Weather Watcher DannyM took this photo looking towards Eastbourne from Ditchling Beacon
Jason Arthur Gravesend in KentJason Arthur
Strikes criss-crossed the skies over East Anglia
Sammy14 Canvey IslandSammy14
Sammy14 sent in this photo of Canvey Island

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