The piglets died after fork lightning struck the Feldkirchen pig sty in Bavaria setting it on fire. In Regensburg lightning hit an apartment block and in Oberisling a tree hit a power line, causing sparks to fly.

In the upper Pflaz region in Bavaria, emergency services received 130 calls related to the weather. In Königstein a driver had to swerve violently to dodge a fallen tree in the road, damaging the vehicle. On the A3 motorway a Porsche hit the crash barrier – the driver was not hurt but the car was badly damaged.

Despite huge storms hitting the Erzgbirge and Chemnitz area of the eastern state of Saxony, a police spokesman said the region had escaped serious damage. A lightning bolt hit a home in Chemnitz, but the family were not in.

Emergency services had their work cut out in Berlin, where they were called out 247 times before 1am. “It was a colourful mix,” a fire service spokesman said, referring to the nature of the calls. “Flooded cellars needed to be pumped, fallen trees cleared and roads drained.” He added that there were no injuries.

DPA/The Local/jcw