Thunderstorms have caused flooding in London and south-east England, with more than 300 emergency calls being made to the fire service overnight.
London Fire Brigade took a day's worth of calls in 90 minutes, with its crews attending flooded premises and roads, and properties hit by lightning.
A Met Office amber "be prepared" warning has been issued, and there were reports of 40mm of rain in some areas.
The Environment Agency has four flood warnings in place.
RICH WALTERS
Rivers in Bromley and Sidcup in south-east London, and Basildon, Essex, are affected, and there are 24 flood alerts.
Meanwhile, Gatwick Express, Abellio Greater Anglia, South West Trains and Southern have warned of major delays on some rail routes.
In London, flooding has led to the suspension of services on the London Underground and on the overground services.
A fire service spokesman said: "Crews are being mobilised to incidents as quickly as possible but the brigade is appealing to people to only call 999 in an emergency - where there is a risk to life or property."
On Twitter, Transport for London posted incidents of localised flooding on roads, including the Blackwall Tunnel in the east of London, which was temporarily closed.
BBC Weather said there had been more 1,000 lightning strikes across the UK overnight, although the thunderstorms are easing.
The Met Office said the rain was brought on by increasingly warm and humid air arriving from France.
Its amber warning for London and parts of Kent, Sussex and Surrey was in effect until 06:00 BST. A yellow "be aware" warning covering a wider area of South East England is in place until 18:00 BST.
Forecasters are warning of the potential of a "second wave" of downpours later on Thursday
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