RESIDENTS across Hampshire were woken up in the night by a large bang that had people fearing there had been an explosion.

In a dramatic night of weather, many parts of the county appear to have experienced thundersnow.

The Met Office say when thunderstorms form in wintry conditions they can sometimes give rise to heavy downpours of snow which are often called 'thundersnow'.

Thundersnow is unusual only because it can only occur in a few months of the year, the Met Office said.

Fair Oak resident Karen Spires was woken by a loud bang in the night and video from the front of her home captured the noise.

She told the Daily Echo: "We thought it was an explosion of some kind, so we jumped out of bed, ran downstairs and looked out of the window to see if anything had happened.

"There has been a lot of snow. We went out sledging this morning.

"It sounded worse than normal thunder. Our first thought wasn't thunder, we thought something was happening and that is why we ran to the window."

Daily Echo: Lightning caputed by a camera at the home of Ben Crawford in FreemantleLightning caputed by a camera at the home of Ben Crawford in Freemantle

Lightning and thunder was also caught on film by Freemantle resident Ben Crawford.

Describing what thundersnow looks like, the Met Office says: "When thundersnow occurs at night the lightning appears brighter - this is because the light reflects off the snowflakes."