Hang on, aren’t we in Spring?

Anyone would be forgiven for thinking this photograph shows a Shropshire garden in mid-winter - not just days before the start of the summer.

But this was the scene that greeted one keen gardener from Wem who was stunned to see his hard work being decimated by a freak hail shower yesterday afternoon.

Michael Williams, of Sungrove, could hardly believe his eyes when a torrential hail storm ripped apart dozens of flowers in his garden, many of which had only been planted the previous weekend.

Mr Williams was surprised to see just how heavy the shower was as it blocked the guttering at his home and remained on the ground for more than an hour afterwards.

He said: “It was not the kind of weather you expect to see in Shropshire in May, it was very dramatic.

“The picture was taken about three quarters of an hour after it finished. The hail just suddenly started coming down.

“It started as a rain storm at about 1.30pm and then hailed for about 20 minutes. I have been to the tropics and never seen a downpour like that before. The gutters couldn’t cope with the hail.

“I take a bit of pride in my garden and spent the previous weekend putting in my bedding plants. The plants are completely ruined now as the hail was going straight through the leaves and taking them out.”

Forecasters said Britain had been colder than the Antarctic this week as temperatures ranged between 7C-10C (44.6F-50F), when they would normally be about 17C (63F) at this time of year.