Dramatic thunderstorms caused havoc in South Bedfordshire after a fortnight's rain fell in just two days.

At Luton Airport, fire crews had to pump out an underpass that had become flooded, leading to gridlock around the terminal.

At the Luton & Dunstable Hospital, extra staff were drafted in to help cope with patients as water flooded into the A&E unit.

A spokeswoman for the hospital said: "We experienced some problems with the torrential rain, we didn't close but staff were under pressure and faced difficulties, but they kept going."

Staff and firefighters stacked up sandbags at the doors, she added, after water started getting in to A&E at about 8.30pm.

She continued: "We had some water coming in through the ceilings as well. The fire brigade attended and helped us out."

In Luton, 17.6mm of rain on Friday afternoon, followed by another 16.3mm during Saturday night's spectacular storm.

BBC weather forecaster Philip Eden, who has observation stations in Luton and Whipsnade and provided the rainfall statistics, said the unsettled weather was likely to return again this weekend.

But before then, he said, temperatures could rise as high as 30°C.