The summer weather ended with a bang in Rainham on Monday, when thunderstorms caused localised flooding.

The Wennington Road area was particularly affected, with torrential rain flooding the street outside the fire station.

But Upminster, just three miles away, stayed completely dry.

Forecasters Netweather said the storm was caused by last week’s high temperatures.

A spokesman said: “It’s what we call ‘British summer weather’, where you get three to five days of heat and then a couple of days of storms.

“These powerful storms can be very localised. Some areas get absolutely hammered by rain and have lightning bombing all around, while people a few miles away are sitting under blue skies wondering what the rumbling is.”

There was more than an inch of rain between 4pm and 5pm – the average for half a month.

The area between Bedfordshire and Kent saw 300 lightning strikes on the day.

Rain is forecast for Sunday but storms are unlikely with cooler, more settled weather.

The Met Office predicts a cool, cloudy weekend with temperatures around 13� and scattered showers.