In Pictures: Umbrellas aloft for summer showers

Umbrellas were a necessary accessory as rain lashed several parts of the UK on Wednesday.

Storms were forecast to get heavier later in the day, with the Met Office warning of torrential downpours and a yellow warning for thunderstorms across East Anglia and the Midlands into the evening.

In Cambridge, the bad weather didn’t keep tourists away from the punts on the River Cam.

It was a damp start during day one of the Ashes Test match at Lord’s. Australia and England fans alike were forced to wait out the morning in the hopes play might finally begin on Wednesday afternoon.

In Windsor, queues for the castle were forced under cover.

And in Staffordshire, the rain fell on guests at the National Memorial Arboretum as the Royal British Legion marked the 50th anniversary of the UK Armed Forces’ deployment in Northern Ireland.