HAILSTONES the size of marbles fell in a freak storm which hit parts of north Kent on Tuesday afternoon.

More than 15mm of rain fell in a two-hour burst which left some streets resembling rivers and homeowners fearing the worst.

The worst affected areas were the Isle of Sheppey and the Medway Towns.

In Chalk Road, Queenborough, water a foot deep trapped people in their homes. One resident, Trevor Blackley, said: “We had sandbags delivered recently because over the past five weeks there have been six or seven floods – but this is by far the worst.

“The flood was caused by a broken pipe in a field behind us. The sandbags proved fruitless because of the severity of the storm and it was up to our air brick at one time.

Opposite Mr Blackley lives Kim Fearn, 33, who said: “I just returned home from working in the kitchens at the nearby Abbott Laboratories when I heard this almighty crash of lightning.

“It must have struck the aerial because smoke came out of the socket at the back of the TV, knocking the TV and the telephone line out.”

Former borough councillor Martin Goodhew, who lives in the road, said: “It was amazing. The water just hammered down. Chalk Road acted like a catchment area for other roads.”

At Halfway, near Sheerness, there was severe flooding at the bottom of Holmside Avenue with rainwater reaching up to the wheelarches of the cars.

Zara Harding, 20, lives at the bottom on Queenborough Road. She said: “It’s flooded right round to the back and I’ll have to wade round in my bare feet because I only have a back door key.”

Rainwater was at vehicle height in part of Gillingham, including Cornwallis Avenue, at the junction of Woodlands Road and Grange Road.

Police cars were sent to the area and traffic and pedestrians diverted away. The thunderstorm deluge also lifted manhole covers in Dock Road, Chatham, and set off numerous alarms across the Medway Towns.

Medway firefighters were called to a property in Railway Street, Chatham, where the basement and ground floor had been flooded. A water pump was used to drain the property.

KMFM Medway also received reports from listeners of flooding in Darnley Road, Strood.

A man riding a bicycle injured his knee after being in collision with a car in Star Hill, Rochester. It is not known if the weather was a factor in the accident.

A HOUSE in Beckenham was struck by lightning in Tuesday night's violent storm.

A fierce fire had taken hold of the roof and the loft space was ablaze. Four fire engines arrived at the scene at Crossways Road just after 8pm.

It took firefighters around 40 minutes to bring the blaze under control and police had to shut the road for several hours.

The loft and its contents were destroyed by the flames but the fire crew managed to save the roof.

The fire was put out within the hour but police remained on the scene until after 10pm to redirect traffic.

A borough surveyor called to the house declared the roof structurally sound.

Fire engines have returned to the scene at 8.30am today to carry out further safety checks.