Good point, and I forgot that Paul asked that earlier, woops I forgot....I wasn't high up at all, in fact I was in a low lying area which was quite flat which faced SE, E, and NE with a good view. I could see the lightning flashes gradually move across the sky from R to L as the storms went NE. This is why I was impressed by them, those cells must have been enormous for me to have actually seen the anvil tops at that distance.
Stuart also seen a few of those flashes from Belfast around the same time.
There's storm coverage on Ch 4 news tonight showing a possible tornado/water spout over the Sea in S. Britain which apparently on youtube, I can't seem to find it though.