A 10-hour thunderstorm warning has now been issued for much of North Wales, with forecasters warning that heavy rain, lightning and strong winds could bring disruption overnight into Friday morning.

The Met Office places Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham under a yellow weather warning from midnight until 10am on Friday. The alert also covers parts of England.

The warning came after another exceptionally hot day, with temperatures topping 30 degrees in parts of North Wales for a second consecutive day.

As a result of expected thunderstorms, forecasters warns there was a risk of power cuts, travel disruption and flash flooding. There is also a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, with damage caused by floodwater, lightning strikes, hail and strong winds.

The Met Office said thunderstorms were expected to move north-east across England and Wales during the early hours of Friday before clearing later in the morning.

Although not every area is expected to see storms, those that do could experience sudden gusts of between 50 and 60 miles per hour, frequent lightning, hail and heavy downpours, with as much as 20 millimetres of rain falling within an hour.

Anyone caught outdoors during a thunderstorm are advised to seek shelter in a substantial building or enclosed vehicle and to avoid standing under trees or on high ground because of the risk of lightning strikes.

The warning follows several days of unusually high temperatures across North Wales, with the change in weather expected to bring a more unsettled end to the week.