Image copyright Jamie Evans Image caption About 1,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the Eastbourne area in one hour

Some 1,000 lightning strikes illuminated the skies above Eastbourne as torrential rain and thunderstorms lashed part of the UK overnight.

Storms lit up the East Sussex seaside town for about an hour, while 42mm of rain fell further north in Lenham in Kent.

Homes were left without power and roads were flooded in other parts of south-east England. A yellow weather warning is in place for the region and East Anglia until 21:00 BST.

Image copyright Sarah Rook Image caption The town of Rye was also illuminated by the storms

Image copyright David Christie Image caption David Christie took this spectacular shot of the sea at Deal

Image copyright EyeOnTheSky Image caption Eastbourne as taken by BBC Weather Watcher EyeOnTheSky

Image copyright Jerrylee Image caption Fellow Weather Watcher Jerrylee snapped this view over St Leonards

"We've had some heavy, thundery showers overnight," said meteorologist Alex Burkill.

"There has been some flooding near Eastbourne and some power cuts.

"We are going to see some further heavy showers heading towards Kent, and south-east parts of the UK will see some heavy thunderstorms through the morning, while isolated ones could develop this afternoon."

Image copyright David Christie Image caption A purple hue was captured over Deal's pier

Image copyright Neil Newby Image caption The view of the English Channel from Beachy Head in East Sussex

Image copyright John Smiddy Smith Image caption Ramsgate also saw lightning as the storms moved across the south-east of England and East Anglia

'Lightning strike fire destroyed my roof'

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Image copyright DannyM Image caption Weather Watcher DannyM took this photo looking towards Eastbourne from Ditchling Beacon

Image copyright Jason Arthur Image caption Strikes criss-crossed the skies over East Anglia

Image copyright Sammy14 Image caption Sammy14 sent in this photo of Canvey Island

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