THUNDER rumbled through the skies of Sussex in the early hours of this morning.

Photographers captured enormous forks of lightning striking above Worthing, Hastings and Brighton shortly before 4am.

The storm proved the Met Office’s warnings were well founded.

The weather service issued a yellow weather warning across Sussex, as well Wales, Northern Ireland, the south coast of England and the west coast of Scotland yesterday.

This was put in place at 4pm yesterday and will is set to last until 9am today.

A second yellow weather warning for thunderstorms has been issued across parts of the UK from noon until 9am tomorrow.

But this narrowly misses Sussex, only stretching as far south as Maidstone.

A Met Office spokesman said: “Thunderstorms can occur at any time of the year but it is during the summer months when thunderstorms in the UK are most likely to produce large hail, gusty winds and torrential downpours that can cause disruption to transport networks and damage property.

“One of the most notable aspects of thunderstorms can be the localised nature of the impacts they could bring.

“This, in particular, can be the case with rainfall amounts, with big differences in amounts that fall from one place to another and over a very short distance.”

Brighton is expected to stay sunny today, with temperatures of between 16C and 20C.

But the weekend is not expected to stay dry, with the Met Office warning of a high (90 per cent) chance of heavy rain at 7am tomorrow with the potential for showers between 6am and 2pm.