Smoke plumes across London after reports of an ‘explosion’ and ‘flash of light’

North London residents reported an "explosion" last night with some describing a “huge flash of light”, others claim to have heard a bang in the capital.

Twitter user Barnaby Slater tweeted a picture of the London skyline with what appeared to be plumes of smoke trailing into the air.

They added: “Huge flash of light followed by sound of massive explosion and plume of smoke in North London”.

Another, Joseph Williams, shared an image from Stoke Newington, adding “Two massive flash bang explosions in North London and now pillar of smokes coming from 23• NE.”

Emergency services were quick to respond to the reports which claimed the "bangs" happened around 5:40pm.

Hackney Police tweeted: “We've received several calls about loud bangs in the Stoke Newington area this evening. No major incidents have been reported to us. The noise appears to have been caused by thunder and lightning.”

London Fire Brigade also posted: “Firefighters carried out an extensive search of the local area after being called to reports of an explosion in #Hackney, but found no fire.”

LightnightMaps.org reported a number of lightning strikes across Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington, Hampstead, Camden.