Britain's hottest week in years could end in a wash-out with some parts of the country at risk of flooding, forecasters warned. Skip related content

As temperatures soared beyond 30C (86F) in parts of Surrey, the north east of England was hit by a torrential thunderstorm.

The Environment Agency warned south Wales and south west England should be braced for heavy downpours.

Tony Conran, forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, the weather arm of the Press Association, said: "Tomorrow is certainly a possibility for the hottest day of the year but for other parts there could be floods.

"There's an area of very heavy rain moving in towards the hills of Bodmin and Exmoor. Anywhere in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset there could be a hell of a lot of rain."

The current weather spell is the hottest since July 2006, with yesterday the hottest of the year so far at 31.8C (89.2F).