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Three people trapped in cars after flash floods in south-east London Flash flooding causes chaos in parts of England
(about 2 hours later)
Three people were trapped in cars after they were submerged in water following flash floods in south-east London. Three people were trapped in their cars after being submerged in flash floods in south-east London.
London Fire Brigade said it helped one person get out of their car while another two people had managed to escape before firefighters arrived at the scene on Manor Road, Wallington. Heavy localised rain has also spread further north through England.
It said the road near Wallington Station was under two metres (6.5ft) of flood water. London Fire Brigade said it helped one person get out of their car while another two people had managed to escape before firefighters arrived.
Flash flooding has also affected the Mitcham and Croydon areas. Luton Airport warned flash flooding in the local area had hit the power supply to the airport and wider vicinity.
The Environment Agency said 35mm (1.3ins) of rain had been logged in an hour in south London. The Environment Agency said 1.4 inches of rain fell in London in one hour.
Longer passport checks
A spokesman for Luton Airport said the storms had taken out some computer systems at UK Border Force at the airport.
They added staff were using laptops to process people instead of the usual computers while technicians tried to get the system back online.
The Home Office said that owing to the power interruption, security checks at passport control may take longer than normal but stressed that border security has not been compromised in any way.
Bedfordshire Police said it was currently only able to respond to life-threatening emergencies in Dunstable town centre due to floodwater.
A spokesperson for the force said: "We are working with our partner agencies such as Central Bedfordshire Council and the Highways Agency to manage the issues caused by the flooding.
"During this time our routine appointments in Dunstable have been ceased and we are only able to respond to genuine emergencies. We appreciate the public's patience during this time and would like to reassure them that we are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
"We are also advising motorists to avoid Dunstable town centre due to a high level of floodwater in both High Street North and South and would ask them to respect any road closure signs that are put in place."
In south London flash floods hit Mitcham, Croydon and Wallington.
The road near Wallington Station was under two metres (6.5ft) of flood water, the fire brigade added.
Firefighters were called to London Road in Croydon after lightning struck several buildings.Firefighters were called to London Road in Croydon after lightning struck several buildings.
The brigade said it attended a small fire, however, it was out within 30 minutes.The brigade said it attended a small fire, however, it was out within 30 minutes.
It said the areas were badly affected by the storm between 14:30 and 15:00 BST, when the brigade received about 100 emergency calls.It said the areas were badly affected by the storm between 14:30 and 15:00 BST, when the brigade received about 100 emergency calls.
Elsewhere, a man and a boy are in a critical condition and a girl is seriously ill after they were struck by lightning in Lisburn, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland.
Grahame Madge, forecaster for the Met Office, said the downpours could continue to cause localised flooding, surface water flooding and travel disruption.Grahame Madge, forecaster for the Met Office, said the downpours could continue to cause localised flooding, surface water flooding and travel disruption.
"What we have is a situation where we have warm, very moist air coming in from the continent and the heat added to the warm air causes it to rise and sees the development of these showers."What we have is a situation where we have warm, very moist air coming in from the continent and the heat added to the warm air causes it to rise and sees the development of these showers.
"The intensity of those can be very severe in localised areas - as we have seen in some places like London and Brighton there has been very heavy rainfall.""The intensity of those can be very severe in localised areas - as we have seen in some places like London and Brighton there has been very heavy rainfall."
Elsewhere, a man and a boy are in a critical condition and a girl is seriously ill after they were struck by lightning in Lisburn, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland.
The fire brigade said trees, billboards and telephone poles were also set on fire by the lightning.