Lightning blows hole in roof of Shrewsbury house during storms

Christina Highfield, 46, said it was lucky the freak weather did not cause a fire at her home in Reabrook, Shrewsbury.

The lighting hit the building in Pulrose Walk when her son Ryan, 17, was out with friends.

She said: "I was sitting in the living room watching television with the dog, Bella, and my son was out at the time at football.

"I heard this huge explosion. I didn't think the weather was that bad, there were a few big cracks of thunder.

"I actually quite like storms, or I did, and at one point I turned the television down to see how loud it was.

"But then there was this huge bang and the house shook. I think I screamed, all the smoke alarms went off and the dog was absolutely terrified.

"I was really shocked by it."

The bolt hit the roof of her home, blasting a hole through the tiles.

Miss Highfield said: "My neighbour heard and came round and she said to ring the fire brigade which I did. We waited for the fire brigade. They came in and made it safe and then brought the engines round to patch the roof.

"We think it struck at an angle, which is lucky so it didn't come straight through the house. Last year there was a storm and it blew all the tiles off the roof in the same place. So this year we have got to have scaffolding up again.

"I have got a piece of furniture up in the attic and it damaged that and it has scorched quite a lot of stuff.

"They had to take away a lot of loft insulation but we are just lucky nothing caught fire."

The lightning hit during Sunday's thunderstorms, which brought rain and hail to some parts of Shropshire.

Heavy downpours affected sports events and led to localised flooding.

Miss Highfield said she was overwhelmed by the support her neighbours gave during the incident.

She said: "I really would like to thank all the neighbours, especially next door. They were all fantastic.

"A lady from Severnside Housing had been out visiting her daughter and she called them to say what had happened.

"But all the neighbours came out to help.

"It did blow a lot of the other house's electricity, and I think some people have had their televisions blown as well. The fire service was fantastic, they were all really helpful and really reassuring."

People in Shrewsbury and across Shropshire reported heavy hail and rain, weather not usually associated with spring.

In the wake of the storm many reported rainbows and double rainbows in the skies.