Scots hit by 4,000 lightning strikes

Thunder storms disrupt transport, power and water supplies across the country:

Power and water and transport was disrupted yesterday after stormy weather and thousands of lightning strikes across Scotland.

Firefighters tackled a blaze at an electrical substation in Gatehouse of Fleet, near Dumfries, at about 4pm, while colleagues were called to a house fire nearby .

“We were called to both incidents after getting calls from the public about fires that had been caused by lightning,” a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said.

The power station later said: “The fault was not weather related, but up to 200 homes were affected until early evening as Scottish Power engineers worked to correct the situation.”

By 6pm yesterday, more than 5,000 lightning strikes had been recorded across Scotland and northern parts of England.

Scottish Water reported that lightning had affected a pump in the PH1 area of Perthshire yesterday leaving some residents without water.

Meanwhile, in southern England temperatures soared to their hottest of the year. The Met Office said Heathrow and Northolt in west London had reached 34C making it one of the warmest June days for about 40 years.

At the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, the temperature peaked at 28°C, with organisers giving away free sun cream and water to music fans.

Friday was previously the warmest day of 2019, with temperatures reaching 30°C at Achnagart in the Highlands.

It is expected to be milder across the Scotland today, with temperatures reaching around 16°C.

The weather and signalling issues caused major rail disruption last night.

An electricity failure at Camelon near Falkirk caused train problems. Early evening trains between Glasgow and Aberdeen were affected, with some journeys cancelled due to flooding and trees falling on the line near Stirling.