'Golf ball-sized' hailstones damage roofs and cars

Hail the size of golf balls left holes in conservatory roofs and dents in cars after a storm described as "like something out of a movie".

The hailstorm hit the market town of Melksham, in Wiltshire, in the early hours of Thursday.

"We've got two cars absolutely covered [and] my conservatory looks like it's got bullet holes all over it," said resident Sharon Daws, who kept some of the hailstones in her freezer as proof for her insurers. "We thought it was a bomb attack... it was pretty scary."

Mandy Milsom, also from the town, said the storm was "like something out of a movie" and it was "impossible" to count the holes in her conservatory roof.

Milsom - who said her insurer was coming to assess the polycarbonate roof - said her husband was the "17th person" to contact the insurance company by 09:00 BST on Thursday.

Resident Catherine Fallon said she had received a figure "in excess of £10,000" to get one of her cars repaired and there were about "150 dents" in another.

Fallon - who is a driving instructor and had two cars covered in dents - said she was concerned her insurance premium would increase.

"We've got about 150 dents circled with pink pen," she said.

Layla Deveney, from Melksham Insurance Brokers, said it had been the busiest period she had experienced in 20 years.

"Over 50 people came in...the phones just rang constantly," she said.

"As far as we know insurers are dealing with the claims as quickly as they can but obviously it's going to have an impact on the SN12 postcode in the next couple of years."

Does insurance cover storm damage?

According to Money Saving Expert, most home insurance policies cover repair costs.

However, they can be "quite picky about what counts as a storm" and may require proof that damage was caused by weather.

Comprehensive car insurance should cover storms but "glass damage" is often not included and any claim would be likely to affect any no claims bonus.

Go.Compare Insurance expert Nathan Blackler said: "Take photos of the damage as soon as it's safe to do so... the more proof you have the better.

"Then get in contact with your insurer straightaway."

Some residents in nearby Chippenham also reported property damage.

BBC West forecaster Ian Fergusson said: "Such large hail is fairly rare in the UK but certainly not unprecedented."

He said the thunderstorm activity on Wednesday night "was poorly captured in forecast modelling albeit the latent risk was sufficiently high to warrant a Met Office yellow warning issued into that night".

He said the atmospheric conditions had led to "sizeable hail, akin in places to the size of table tennis balls."

He added: "These fell with sufficient velocity - and from considerable height - as to cause damage to property and vehicles."