Bill for hailstone damage to cars may reach £1.5m

Tropical storms which saw hailstones the size of golf balls shower down on parts of Britain could have caused up to £1.5m (€2.1) worth of damage to cars, motoring group AA said.

One driver said that the bombardment smashed the car’s rear window and flooded its interior — leaving it looking “like a giant gin and tonic”.

The record-breaking heatwave sparked dramatic lightening and hail storms on Wednesday night into Thursday. More than 50,000 people in the north-east of England had their power cut following the storms as nearly 20,000 lightning strikes hit the country.