A Suffolk furniture store had to be evacuated after a violent storm forced gallons of water up through drains and into the showroom.

A Suffolk furniture store had to be evacuated after a violent storm forced gallons of water up through drains and into the showroom.

Owner Paul Glasswell told of his horror after the deluge swept into his family owned Glasswell's store in Bury St Edmunds. Around 100 shoppers had to leave the shop.

He said: “The carpet just swelled up from underneath and the water just started flowing. It all happened in only a few seconds.

“It must have been a couple of inches across a large area of the shop. We have been here for 17 years and this has never happened before but it was a pretty heavy storm.”

Mr Glasswell said the water pressure was fed by the acre and a half of roof gathering the heavy rainfall in a 20 minute downpour at around 3.30pm yesterday.

There were further thunderstorms and heavy downpours last night, leading to flash floods.

The stormy conditions are also believed to have played a part in a crash on the A14 in which a car ended up on its roof and a woman had to be cut free from the wreckage. Her injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

The accident happened on the Ipswich bound carriageway close to the Rougham/Beyton junction at 9.10pm.