PL Mazovia hail storm credit Adam Bogucki

PL Mazovia Hail storm credit Piotr Majewski

Large hailstones which struck the Polish region of Mazovia (photo: Piotr Majewski)

Fruit production in the Mazovia region of east-central Poland has reportedly been badly affected by a major hailstorm, which swept through areas to the south of the town of Grójec on Monday afternoon.

According to growers writing on the Polish horticultural forum Sadownictwo,severe storms caused damage to apples, pears, cherries and strawberries in the region, affecting the districts of Maguszew, Warka and Pilica the worst.

While it is not yet known how much fruit has been lost, growers have now begun to assess the damage.

One commented: 'I have never seen such damage in my life in this region. Even big apple trees are without leaves and trees will need to be pulled out.'

Another grower said the hail had compounded damage caused by an earlier storm. 'It has hailed for a second time in Maguszew district, where the strawberries look very bad, as if someone shot them, and it's only 20th May.'