There have been several lightning strikes, a secondary school is closed and roads and homes are flooded as storms batter Cumbria.

A detached cottage in Dalston, near Nook Lane, was struck by lightning at about 8.15am. It caused a small electrical fire, which firefighters from Carlisle West and East stations swiftly put out.

At 10:10am firefighters were called to reports of a tree on fire at the side of the road, in West Newton, after being hit by lightning.

The tree was well alight and had spread to some gas cartridges and aerosols in a nearby shed.

Almost 1,000 homes in the Little Salkeld area of Penrith - including South Esk and Salkeld Road - were without power after lightning struck overhead power lines.

Electricity North West says engineers have restored power to all but 347 of those.

A further 66 properties remain without electricity in the Greystoke area.

A lightning strike in Aspatria left seven homes without power.

At its height about 1,700 properties were cut off.

Cockermouth School was forced to close for the day after torrential rain leaked into the building, causing widespread damage.

The reception area, six classrooms and a corridor were were damaged and the school was closed on health and safety grounds.

It will reopen tomorrow with the affected areas closed off and repairs will be carried out over the summer holidays.

Carlisle's Market Hall was closed temporarily after some stalls flooded, to allow them to mop out.

Elsewhere in the city, both the Clocktower Costa Coffee and New Look were also forced to shut.

Asda Kingstown also closed because of flooding.

The sky turned black across north and west Cumbria as the first wave of the storm hit west Cumbria between 5am and 6am, reaching Carlisle shortly before 8am.

The skies were so dark that street lights in some parts of Carlisle automatically switched on, while the traffic lights on the bridge crossing the River Eden at Langwathby were knocked out by a lightning strike.

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Sarah Wilson, from Carlisle, said: "I was debating cutting the grass then it went black way too fast. Lights were on and street lights switched on.

"Never have I seen the weather change that fast and that black before."

A spokesman for Cumbria Police urged motorists to drive with care as many roads in the county are covered by surface water.

On the M6 through the county the speed limit has been reduced to 40mph and 50mph for much of the route.

The initial storm left many roads in Carlisle and the surrounding area covered in standing water as commuters made their way to work, and further storms continue to sweep through the county.

National Rail is now reporting rail delays of up to 70 minutes because of a signalling problem - it is unclear if this is weather-related.

Replacement buses are operating between Carlisle and Lockerbie.

Flash flooding is affecting vast areas of the county including areas of Scotland Road near to Morrisons supermarket and St Ninian's Road in Carlisle, Station Road in Wigton, and parts of Aspatria and Mealsgate.

Footage of the storm in Cockermouth, filmed by Anita Ray.

News & Star reader Karen Shields took dramatic pictures from Carlisle's Civic Centre as the storm headed towards Carlisle.

There were also reports this morning of flooding at some shops in Wigton town centre.

The Met Office is warning that the storms are moving north through the country, and so south Cumbria will ease off first.

However, Carlisle is expected to cling onto the storm until early afternoon - with the last of the heavy showers not expected to clear until 1pm or 2pm.

A spokeswoman for the forecaster said it is likely to feel fresher after the storm.

The storm has come a day after what Met Office officials say was the hottest day of the year.

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