Melksham Residents Face £10,000 Car Repair Bills After Golf Ball-Sized Hailstorm

Residents of Melksham, Wiltshire, are grappling with significant damage to their homes and vehicles following an intense hailstorm that swept through the market town in the early hours of Thursday. The storm produced hailstones described as the size of golf balls, resulting in considerable destruction.

Sharon Daws, a Melksham resident, reported her conservatory roof sustained what appeared to be “bullet holes” and her two cars were “absolutely covered” in dents. She preserved some of the large hailstones in her freezer as evidence for her insurance claim. Another resident, Mandy Milsom, described the deluge as “like something out of a movie” and noted “impossible” to count the holes in her polycarbonate conservatory roof. Her husband was reportedly the seventeenth person to contact their insurance company by 09:00 BST.

Catherine Fallon, a driving instructor, received a repair estimate “in excess of £10,000” for one of her vehicles, with another car accumulating approximately 150 dents. She expressed concern over potential increases to her insurance premium.

Local insurance brokers in Melksham experienced unprecedented demand. Layla Deveney from Melksham Insurance Brokers stated it was the busiest period in her 20-year career, with over 50 people visiting and phones ringing “constantly.” She acknowledged that insurers are processing claims but predicted a lasting impact on the SN12 postcode’s insurance landscape.

While most home insurance policies typically cover storm damage, experts note that insurers can be particular about what constitutes a storm and may require robust proof. Comprehensive car insurance usually includes storm coverage, but specific exclusions like “glass damage” can apply, and claims are likely to affect no-claims bonuses. Nathan Blackler, an insurance expert, advised photographing damage immediately and contacting insurers without delay.

Forecaster Ian Fergusson noted that such large hail, while rare in the UK, is not unprecedented. He explained that atmospheric conditions on Wednesday night, despite some limitations in forecast modelling, created circumstances for “sizeable hail, akin in places to the size of table tennis balls,” falling with sufficient velocity to cause property and vehicle damage.