THE Met Office has issued a warning for thunderstorms and heavy rain across Maldon, Burnham-on-Crouch and the Dengie Peninsula from 6am until midnight tomorrow (Saturday, 3 July).

The yellow-rated alert (the lowest level of risk on the warning system, meaning 'be prepared') includes the following forecast:

"Heavy rain and some thunderstorms are expected to develop on Saturday morning over southern England and then move northeastwards before clearing into the North Sea on Saturday afternoon.

"Many places will see a short period of heavy rain whilst some may see a more prolonged period of rain along with some intense bursts, with lightning and hail. Under the heavier rain some sites could see 30-40 mm rain falling in a few hours.

"Once this clears, further heavy showers are expected to break out. These will be more hit-and-miss with many sites staying dry following early rain, but where they do occur, there is a chance of 30-35 mm rain falling in an hour, again accompanied by lightning and hail."

The area outlined on the UK map for the warning covers the East of England and includes the whole Maldon district area.

For more information and updates on this particular warning go to the Met Office website using the link here.