IT was supposed to be summer, but hailstones the size of golf balls bombarded Burnley during a freak thunderstorm in July 1968.

Houses in Helmshore were hit by a thunderbolt and a cloudburst brought severe flooding to Padiham, Barrowford and Earby.

Pauline Kelso didn't think anyone would believe how large the hail was that started pelting her home in Fleetwood Road, Burnley that evening, so she collected some and put them in her fridge as proof.

In our picture, 10-year-old Glynis Poole, also of Fleetwood Road, shows off the two-inch balls of solid ice which fell from the blackened sky and smashed summer plants, windows and skylights.

Torrential rain followed and several Burnley factories were hit by the deluge, including the former Prestige, where overtime workers had to abandon their machines when the building flooded.

Work at the Oxford Mill Company in Harle Syke was interrupted as water splashed around the looms and into the warehouse. Weavers who had finished their shift answered an emergency call to return and help bale the water out.

Parts of Earby were flooded to a depth of four feet, where the worst affected area was Victoria Road, with both the bus and fire stations under water.

Burnley weather station showed that 1.8 inches of rain had fallen in the town in 24 hours - although most of it came down in little more than an hour, while Nelson had 2.2 inches, with one inch falling in half an hour!