GOING DOWN A STORM
Power cuts and floods cause summer chaos

SPECTACULAR bolts of lightning crash to earth as a powerful electrical storm illuminates the sky above an oil refinery.

Joanna Robinson, who watched the dark purple clouds gather over the plant in Southampton, said: "It was incredible.

"You could see the forks of lightning leaping down from the sky one after the other."
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But the torrential rain that accompanied the worst electrical storm to hit the South and the Midlands for years caused chaos. In eastern Kent a month's worth of rain fell in just an hour and there was widespread flooding and power cuts in Dover, Deal and Folkestone.

There were similar stories in Essex, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Shropshire as the storm broke on Wednesday evening - and in Somerset, where music lovers arriving early for the Glastonbury festival were soaked.

Fire stations were also deluged - with calls from people whose houses were hit by lightning.

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