DOZENS of properties were flooded, two were hit by lightning and rail passengers faced disruption, as York and the region were battered by a huge storm on Saturday evening.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said that between 6pm and 11pm on Saturday, they received 35 reports of flooding to properties, caused by flash storms.

Tadcaster and Tockwith were among the worst affected, but there were also incidents in Easingwold, Settle and Bedale.

Crews from York, Huntington, Tadcaster, Selby, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Settle and Easingwold were all deployed.

A spokesperson said a property in Dishforth and another in Boroughbridge were reportedly hit by lightning, although there was no serious damage.

Crews were also called out to nine incidents that turned out to be only automatic alarms that had been activated by power cuts and the storms. 

In Tadcaster, the main street was closed for around two hours due to flooding, while other roads around the area were also hit by flash floods and standing water.

Police urged drivers to take care in the poor road conditions.

Flooding on the York-Leeds rail line caused problems for trains, with First Transpennine warning passengers that flooding near Church Fenton meant many trains were delayed by as much as an hour.

The line reopened at around 10pm, but trains are expected to run around 20 minutes late for the rest of the evening.

Press reader Kerrie Greenfield captured this picture of lightning over Fulford:

York Press:

The Met Office had earlier issued a 'yellow' alert, warning of the possibility of storms with thunder, lightning, hail, torrential rain and surface water flooding.

When the storm hit, it brought large hailstorms and thunder over York. More rain is forecast on Sunday evening, with potential heavy downpours.