Parts of south Essex were struck by heavy showers and thunderstorms yesterday with the freak weather burying some people’s gardens under small clumps of ice.

The Met Office had issued amber thunderstorm warnings for parts of south-eastern and central England between 4pm and 7pm on Tuesday.

As of Tuesday evening, as much as 60mm of rain had fallen in just a few hours in areas affected by the amber thunderstorm warning.

Water had been visible on roads with drivers warned of difficult conditions due to spray, while as much as two inches of hail fell in the worst affected areas.

Joseph Petrassi, 22, filmed heavy rain and hail buffeting his garden in Basildon, Essex.

(They’re) very scary conditions… first time I’ve known bad hailstorms like this in my area,” Mr Petrassi, a guitarist and production assistant, told PA.

“Luckily no damage at all apart from some unfortunate plants.”

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Other social media users uploaded photos of large pieces of hail in their gardens, while others shared videos of heavy rainfall.

The Fortune of War roundabout was left under water during rush hour yesterday evening due to a heavy downpour.

Echo: The Fortune of War roundabout was left underwaterThe Fortune of War roundabout was left underwater

A road in Billericay was also filmed being bombarded with heavy rainfall and being covered in water in a matter of minutes.

A video taken by reporter Ellis Whitehouse outside the Echo's office in Basildon showed the intense rainfall and strong winds. 

One clip posted on Twitter shows a hailstorm covering a Basildon resident’s garden, with strong winds and clumps of ice resembling weather closer to winter than summer.

The Met Office's forecast for today currently suggests there is little threat of more storms hitting south Essex. 

However, it is warning of the potential of more thunderstorms in Eastern England. 

Temperatures are expected to rise to around 27c in Basildon today and 25c in Southend before things will start to cool down again tomorrow.