Thunderstorms brought chaos to the west of Scotland last night causing flooding, disrupting transport and bringing down power lines.

Dozens of homes and businesses in Ayrshire, Glasgow, and parts of Lanarkshire were affected as emergency services reported flooding of up to two feet in some places.

Many motorists were forced to pull to the side of the road as torrential rain, gusting winds and poor visibility made driving extremely hazardous.

Thousands of lightning strikes reported in the area led to hundreds of homes being left without power. The bad weather seemed to be concentrated during a two-hour period from 6pm during which time Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service reported attending almost 30 flooding incidents.

The M74 Glasgow to Carlisle road was closed in both directions between junctions 11 and 13 just before 6pm after torrential rain caused a mud landslide just south of Lesmahagow.

Police said the north-bound carriageway was reopened about an hour later but the south-bound carriageway remained closed to allow repairs and traffic was diverted, rejoining the M74 at junction 13.

Train services in and out of Glasgow Queen Street were also severely disrupted just before 7pm. Flooding on the railway near the station led all high-level services to be suspended. A limited service from the station was restored about two hours later.

Police and fire service officials said no-one was injured.

A Met Office spokesman : "We have had reasonably warm air over the UK. The warmer the air the more potential there is for heavy rain. When you get heavy rain it can result in stronger gusts of wind."