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Were you woken by the thunder and lightning?

News imagePeter Barrett lightningPeter Barrett
May began with a bang, as storms brought thunder, lightning and heavy rain in the early hours of the morning

Many people reported being woken up by loud claps of thunder overnight, as storms raged over London.

Flashes of lightning lit up the sky, accompanied by heavy rain in some areas.

"That thunder woke half of London up," one man posted on social media at around 05:30 BST.

News imagePaul's London Walks an eerie purple skyPaul's London Walks
A spring sky, or Halloween? This eerie photo was taken by BBC Weather Watcher Paul's London Walks in Camberwell at about 03:30 BST

One woman took to X (formerly Twitter) to complain: "I just want to sleep dude #thunderstorms #storms #rain #london."

Another posted: "Woken up in A hotel room in Canary Wharf by thunder and lightning, all feeling a bit dystopian #thunderstorms."

News imageAkeel_K lightning seen from a window at nightAkeel_K
Many people on social media struggled to sleep through the storms in the early hours of the morning. This photo was captured by Weather Watcher Akeel_K in Hendon

Many of the lightning strikes were captured on camera in the early hours of this morning by weary BBC Weather Watchers.

News imagePaul Barrett Flashes of lightning in the night skyPaul Barrett
Flashes of lightning were caught by BBC Weather Watcher Peter Barrett in Hornchurch at 04:45 BST

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