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A 'floating ball of fire' has been spotted during a thunderstorm outside an Essex care home.

The strange meteorological phenomenon, known as ball lightning, was reported by residents in a Great Wakering care home during last Friday's thunderstorms (August 10).

Ball lightning is usually associated with thunderstorms but lasts considerably longer than a normal lightning bolt.

Tom Defty, forecaster at the Essex Weather Centre, explained how this was only the third report of ball lightning he has come across during 20 years on the job.

"Residents at this care home reported that an orb of fire was floating in the gardens of the home," he said.

"It drifted for 15 to 20 seconds, long enough for the residents to alert the staff.

"It exploded and caused damage to the woodwork."

Reports of ball lightning date back centuries but continues to baffle meteorologists to this day.

Tom added: "It is a very weird thing that nobody knows what causes it.

"There are reports going back hundreds of years, with a lot of them happening in the UK."

Great Wakering and other parts of South Essex experienced strong hailstorms last Friday, in what Tom described as a "severe weather event."

But the south of the county was not the only area affected by storms - a separate storm system battered Chelmsford during the afternoon.

Central Park was badly damaged by the storm, with trees falling down onto pathways in what some claimed was the result of a 'tornado'.

However, Tom has ruled out the possibility of the gust of wind being a tornado after an investigation.

"You have to investigate any report of a tornado to see if it was - we can rule out that it was a tornado.

"Normally when you get a thunderstorm you get a strong gust of wind before it.

"It is always a common thing for trees to come down. There were some reports of people seeing a tornado from High Chelmer, but if it was a tornado, there would be evidence from any CCTV."