The month of May has unusually been something of a scorcher this year … but the UK could be hit by thunderstorms on Friday.

The Met Office is predicting downpours in places with a few heavy and perhaps thundery showers, mainly in the south.

And with the ground so dry in many places after the long spell of dry weather there is a risk of flash flooding.

Richard Bailey, managing director of Yorkshire-based Environmental Defence Systems which designs and manufactures anti-flood products, said: “When the ground is so dry we get what is called run-off where the water hits the ground and just can’t soak in and so can quickly build up and flood a street, home or business.

“It can also happen if ground is already saturated and simply can’t take any more water. Often we get calls when this is happening which is too late. People need to be prepared for floods at all times as it really can happen any time, any place and anywhere.

“There is a danger it will happen this Friday.”

Many homes and businesses now have FloodSax Sandless sandbags so they are prepared for flooding.

FloodSax are transformed from being as light as a pillowcase to being more effective than traditional sandbags in just three minutes and are ideal at soaking up spills as well as stopping running water.

Around 2.5 million have now been sold worldwide.