Residents were shocked to see large hailstones falling on their homes and gardens last night despite patches of blue sky and warm weather.

One resident, Eric Goode, filmed this video of the hailstones outside his Mitcham home because he was so surprised to see it happening after a relatively warm day.

He can be heard calling to his family to look out the window at the spectacle of a quarter inch hailstones covering his caravan and driveway.

He said it lasted about 25 minutes from 7pm.

An attendee of a planning committee meeting at Morden's Civic Centre last night said the noise of the hail hammering on the roof drowned out the people speaking, making it difficult to hear what was happening.

Mr Goode, of Frimley Gardens, said: "It was incredible, I've never seen hail in May before.

"I quickly grabbed my camera to record it."

He said the road was flooded with about two inches of water after the ensuing downpour, which saw outbursts of thunder in other parts of the borough.

The Met Office said yesterday temperatures were predicted to reach as high as 19 degrees, with bright sunshine continuing until lunchtime when the clouds were due to roll in.

Rain was expected to start at 6pm bringing with it a chance of thunder.