A woman was pelted with huge hailstones during a freak storm just hours after a tornado warning was issued.

Charlotte Brampton from Shepway, Maidstone was caught in the shower when putting her bins out yesterday (May 21).

The downpour began at around 5pm and lasted for about half an hour.

She said: “Within five minutes, it went really dark.

“We had a few claps of thunder, a few lightning flashes.

“I was putting the rubbish out at the time it started, and I was in pain when they hit the skin – they left like little pink marks.”

The ice is described as being larger than a pea.

Charlotte said: “It was the biggest hail I've ever seen.

“I've lived in Kent since ‘98, and the last time we had hail like that was when I was a little girl.”

It comes after weather experts warned of a brief tornado in the UK yesterday, with the risk of heavy showers, thunder and lightning.

The Met Office also posted on X: ”With heavy showers in the south today, there's a risk of thunder and lightning, and possibly some short-lived funnel clouds or even a brief tornado.”