London weather: Met Office issues warning as heavy rain, hail and thunderstorms to batter capital

A weather warning has been issued for London with heavy rain, thunderstorms and possibly hail set to batter the capital.

The Met Office said flooding of transport routes, homes and businesses is possible on Wednesday due to the persistent wet weather.

Up to 80 millimetres of rain could fall across parts of the country over the next 24 hours as heavy downpours are expected to continue.

A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for London as well as the South East, Midlands and East Anglia.

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst told the Standard: "The main issue will be the heavy rain and thunder but we could potentially see a little bit of hail too.

"There will be plenty of water lying on the roads at times. It's set to be a damp, grey day."

The Met Office's weather warning read: "An area of heavy rain will sink slowly southwards across the east and south east of England during Wednesday.

"Some transport routes may be affected by localised flooding leading to longer journey times.

"In addition, flooding of homes and businesses is possible. The heaviest of the rain should gradually become confined to the extreme south east of the UK later in the day."

Downpours are expected to continue throughout Wednesday in the capital, slowly dying out by Thursday morning. Forecasters said the maximum temperature would be 21C.

The Environment Agency has issued a flood warning for the River Leen in Nottinghamshire, meaning flooding is expected.

Several "flood alerts" have also been issued - meaning flooding is possible - for areas including around the North Sea coast at Scarborough.

The warnings come three weeks after heavy rain lashed the country and led to flash flooding in the coastal village of Coverack.

Fifty properties were affected and several people had to be rescued from their homes from the village in Cornwall.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said it dealt with five incidents of flooding overnight, with parts of Grimsby affected as well as surrounding villages.