A violent midnight thunderstorm lit up skies across London and parts of southeast England during the UK's ongoing June heatwave, waking residents with intense lightning, booming thunder and torrential rain.
The storm struck in the early hours after days of soaring temperatures under Met Office heat warnings on 22 June, creating dramatic scenes across the capital. Videos shared online showed repeated flashes illuminating the skyline, while startled residents compared the spectacle to an alien invasion, with some saying they had never witnessed a storm quite like it.
