It was a situation which was, in terms of the number of calls, similar to that great Boxing Day storm of about three years ago

South Lanarkshire spokesman Drew King

Up to 2,000 people in the Dalbeattie, Castle Douglas and Thornhill areas of Dumfries and Galloway lost electricity supplies.

In Wales pensioners had to be evacuated after water poured into their homes in Llandudno and there was widespread damage to roads and property around Colwyn Bay and the Conwy Valley.

Staff worked through the night

At a caravan park in the village of Llanuwchllyn near Bala in north Wales, seven caravans were washed away by the torrential rains.

Areas hit particularly hard include the south east, south west and Cardiff and Western Power Distribution is warning there could be more problems caused by electrical storms later.

Phil Davies, network services manager for Western Power in Wales, said staff had worked through the night to try to restore power.

Parts of South Lanarkshire in Scotland were particularly badly affected by flooding, with some homes evacuated.

A spokesman for South Lanarkshire Council, Drew King, said its emergency services were almost stretched to breaking point.

Flooding at Congresbury near Bristol

He said: "It was a situation which was, in terms of the number of calls, similar to that great Boxing Day storm of about three years ago.

"We had folks out throughout the night in all of the areas of South Lanarkshire, but mainly in the Clydesdale area which seems to have been the worst hit."

Widespread devastation

Weather forecasters say that more than two inches of rain fell in parts of Wales overnight.

Eyewitnesses at the Bryn Gwyn caravan site at Llanuwchllyn near Bala said the scene looked like the battle of the Somme.

Although the storms may die out for a time more heavy showers are forecast later in the day in Wales and southwest England.

Some of these storms are likely to give local torrential downpours leading to flooding.

The picture in Scotland is more settled with patchy rain forecast first followed by scattered heavy showers.

Meanwhile the rest of England will stay humid and dry, the best of the sunshine in south and east. Northern Ireland is likely to stay dry with a chance of some showers.