A smoking manhole cover in Coombe Road, New Malden, which sparked fears of a potential explosion from the electricity cables and boxes below, was one of many call-outs for the fire brigade over the weekend.

There were 302 call-outs across the capital in a three hour period between 10pm on Saturday night and 1.20am on Sunday morning, with most in west London.

Homes and basements across south west London were flooded, with heavy rainwater on the roads causing traffic delays as cars slowed to tackle the puddles.

Some could not make it through and broke down, leading to further delays.

There were also faulty fire alarms affected by the heavy rain.

Phil Morton, watch manager at Kingston, said: "It's been manic because of the rain. There's been thousands of emergency calls - houses flooding, business premises flooding, basements flooding.

"Whenever it rains, a lot of fire alarm systems become faulty."

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said: "Firefighters are trained to deal with issues like these. It's not just fires we attend.

"They dealt with a large number in a short period of time."

Were you affected by the rain? Tell us your stories by leaving a comment below, emailing dlindsell@london.newsquest.co.uk or calling 020 8330 9547.