Loud thunder, bursts of lightning and torrential downpours gave people a rude awakening in the early hours.

The dramatic storms hit the east of the county from around 2am, with one Facebook user comparing the sound to "bombs being dropped".

VIDEO: The lightning woke people in Ashford. Credit: Mark Horton.

Bright flashes of lightning lit up the Canterbury, Whitstable, Faversham, Herne Bay and Ashford areas every few seconds, with bursts of crashing thunder.

In Canterbury, firefighters were called after a telegraph pole was hit by lightning.

Crews arrived in Hassall Reach to find a garage engulfed in flames as a result of the strike, which affected power lines leading to the building.

They used a hose reel jet to douse the blaze and a thermal imaging camera to check for hot spots.

A Kent Fire and Rescue spokesman said: "The impact of the lightning strike blew the main fuse in the metre and consumer units. Nobody was injured in the blaze but the garage was destroyed by the fire."

Heavy downpours also hammered down in other parts of the county.

People took to social media to report the rude awakening, and share photos of the spectacle.

A lightning map showed the storm's path through south and east Kent in the early hours.

The outlook is more settled today, with the remaining showers clearing this morning to leave a dry and sunny day, and highs of 25c.

But there could be more stormy weather tomorrow, which will be sunny but with a chance of thundery showers.

The rest of the Bank Holiday Weekend is expected to be dry and sunny with highs of 26c.