Watch: "Mother of all thunderstorms" blankets the UK with 15,000-20,000 lightning strikes

Nearly 1,000 properties have been left without power, and road users have been warned of potentially hazardous conditions.

The weather over London (Sam Wilkinson/PA)

Ryan Wilkinson

The UK was struck by lightning between 15,000 and 20,000 times as the “mother of all thunderstorms” rolled across southern England overnight, meteorologists said.

The London Fire Brigade said it had taken more than 500 weather-related calls as the warm and humid bank holiday weather broke down into an “utterly intense” storm.