Video
Hailstones 'the size of golf balls' batter gardens in Essex
Hailstorms battered parts of Essex yesterday - Credit: Archant/Neil Brooks/Jane Ratcliffe
Hailstones "the size of golf balls" battered parts of Essex during a summer storm yesterday (Tuesday, July 20).
In 27C heat, Thaxted, Bardfield and Great Sampford residents experienced a hailstorm which damaged cars and destroyed gardens.
One resident from Thaxted even shared a photograph of a hailstone measuring three centimetres in diameter on Twitter.
Neil Brooks tweeted: "Two to three minutes of the biggest hail I've ever seen. Dents in the car.
"Insane weather."
Neil Brooks from Thaxted photographed a hailstone measuring three centimetres in diameter - Credit: Neil Brooks/Twitter
Hailstones "the size of golf balls" in Thaxted - Credit: Neil Brooks/Twitter
Jane from Great Sampford said: "It's so depressing to see the garden this morning, or what is left of it.
"A major clear-up begins today."
A Great Sampford garden after the storm - Credit: Jane Ratcliffe
Hailstones in a Great Sampford garden after the storm - Credit: Jane Ratcliffe
Most Read
- 1 Creamfields announces new electronic music festival for Chelmsford, Essex, in 2022
- 2 Affinity Water to resume water softening in Saffron Walden
- 3 Ipswich man charged in connection with Cheshunt rail incident
- 4 Beth Shriever talks Tokyo: 'I'm proof that you can make it'
- 5 Venue change for Ibiza Anthems Garden Party to Saffron Walden
- 6 Essex village celebrates 1,000 years of memories with new archive
- 7 Updates after person hit by train near Cambridge
- 8 Essex BMX star wins Olympic gold
- 9 Person dies after being struck by train in Cambridge
- 10 Saffron Walden Motor Show set for 2021 return
The large hailstones are the latest in a series of amber-warning weather events.
Thaxted flooded last week, causing disruption to commuters between Saffron Walden and Dunmow.
A weather station near Saffron Walden recorded 60.3mm of rain yesterday, more than the average July rainfall for much of East Anglia (51.6mm).
The heatwave - which has seen highs of 32C in some parts of the country - is set to tail off over the weekend, with highs of 23C on Friday and Saturday in Essex.
The Met Office forecasts storms on Sunday with highs of 21C.
