A huge thunderstorm battered Chelmsford yesterday amid a severe weather warning for Essex – with two men spotted paddling in a canoe down a flooded street.
Severe flooding left roads submerged and water spilling into the Meadows Shopping Centre in Chelmsford on Saturday afternoon.
Beeches Road was inundated with rain and two men were even seen taking advantage of the downpour, using a canoe in the streets.
Residents described scenes of “carnage” and said “Chelmsford was sinking”.
One person said they had “never seen rain like it”.
There was travel chaos on the roads and train services in the area were disrupted due to the severe flooding.
MORE: Delays on mainline trains after flooding led to cancellations
Trains were cancelled between Colchester and Marks Tey and when services resumed they ran at a reduced speed.
The Red Arrows were also forced to cancel their VJ Day flypast due to the weather.
Up to nine centimetres of rain could fall today with weather forecasters predicting another stormy day of thundery showers across East Anglia.
MORE: Thundery showers on the cards as forecasters predict ‘lively Sunday’
The Met Office still has a yellow weather warning in place – and says that where thunderstorms do strike there could be disruption with heavy downpours, and possibly power cuts.
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