Met Office issues thunderstorm warning across England as lightning and flooding to plague UK

Forecasters say the downpours are likely to lead to some travel disruption throughout the morning before moving north east.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "An area of heavy rain and thunderstorms will move northeastwards during Tuesday morning.

"This will bring 10-20 mm in 1 hour to many places within the warning area but a smaller corridor of torrential rain giving 30-40 mm in 1-2 hours in places accompanied by frequent lightning and gusty winds."

The forecaster warns spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.

Commuters are also advised that some public transport may be affected, especially where flooding or lightning strikes occur.

Despite the wet weather, temperatures are expected to be above average for this time of year with most of the country experiencing low to mid 20s and highs of 27C in the south east of England.

It comes after Britain saw scorching temperatures with just the odd shower and thunderstorm threat appearing sparingly over the last five weeks.

The rain is set to clear across most parts of England by lunchtime with sunny spells into the afternoon.

A Met Office spokesman added: "Locally heavy, possibly thundery, outbreaks of rain will move north-eastwards across England and Wales to clear eastern Scotland later. Some heavy and thundery bursts possible.

"Otherwise another warm, humid day with sunshine and showers, these occasionally heavy or thundery."

The country was swept by thunder and lightning last weekend when some flooding was caused chaos following a heatwave.

Temperatures have surged in recent weeks with some extreme weather causing temperatures over 30C.

A longer range forecast suggests this weekend will still see "very warm" temperatures but with some rain showers.