UK thunderstorms spark house fires after week of record-breaking temperatures

Severe thunderstorms swept across parts of the UK overnight after a late-June heatwave that set a new provisional June temperature record, triggering lightning-related house fires in East Sussex and disrupting travel across southern England.

Heat gives way to storms

The change in weather came after the UK recorded 37.3C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, on June 26, provisionally setting a new June temperature record. Thundery showers and lingering extreme heat then moved in overnight into June 27.

The Met Office had warned of thundery showers after the hot spell, as the weather shifted from record-breaking heat to unsettled conditions.

East Sussex fires

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said it was called at 12:03am on June 27 to a house in Selmeston Road, Eastbourne, where the roof was alight.

Minutes later, at 12:19am, crews were sent to Long Avenue in Bexhill after reports of a house fire caused by a lightning strike.

The fire service said joint fire control received multiple 999 calls and sent four fire engines to each incident.

Wider disruption

The thunderstorms were not confined to East Sussex. Separate reporting said the same weather system disrupted flights at major airports in southern England, including Heathrow and Gatwick, with hundreds of delays and cancellations.

The storms added to a broader late-June weather pattern that had already brought extreme heat, then a fast-moving transition to thunder, lightning and localized fire risk.

What is still unclear

It was not immediately clear whether anyone was injured in either East Sussex incident or how extensive the damage was at the two homes.

Authorities were also still monitoring whether further thunderstorm warnings or storm-related disruption would follow as the weather continued to change.