Two homes, a school and a shed were hit by lightning as thunderstorms and heavy rain brought the heatwave to an abrupt end.

Firefighters were called to Barr Road in Gravesend just before 11am to reports lightning had struck a two-storey house and smoke could be seen.

The strike caused structural damage to the roof of the property and the ceilings to collapse in the upstairs of the house.

Three engines - one from Thames-side, one from Strood and one from Rochester - attended.

Once crews arrived, they quickly established there was no fire, but the loft had been damaged as tiles had fallen through the roof.

Crews isolated the gas and electricity supply and made the scene safe.

Nearby Tymberwood Academy in Cerne Road, Gravesend, was also struck by lighting, knocking out the school's phone lines.

No one was hurt but part of the school was evacuated as a precaution while safety checks were carried out.

Parents needing to contact the school can do so by emailing office@tymberwoodacademy.org.uk but the school is working hard to restore the phone connection.

Elsewhere, in Sittingbourne, fire crews were called to tackle a small fire after a shed was hit by lightning in Orchard Road just after 11.30am.

They used a hose reel, short extension ladder and small tools to put out the flames in the roof void of the shed.

Also in Sittingbourne, a garage caught alight in College Road at around 11.30am - thought to be following a lightning strike.

Then just after midday, a home was struck by lightning in Viscount Square, Herne Bay.

Crews used a thermal imaging camera and portable water tanks called flexi packs to damp down smouldering in the loft space.

It comes as the bright sunshine of this morning was replaced with dark skies and heavy downpours in parts of Kent.

People across the county reported hearing loud rumbles of thunder.

There were also reports of power cuts in Gravesend and Tunbridge Wells.

UK Power Networks tweeted to say a large number of homes experienced a brief outage, but electricity was switched back on quickly.

A Met Office yellow "be aware" warning for heavy rain was in place until 1pm.

What's the weather like where you are? Send your photos to news@thekmgroup.co.uk or tweet @Kent_Online.