Lightning strikes house

A LIGHTNING strike wrecked the kitchen of a Barcombe home and also damaged an adjoining cottage.

Farm worker Shaun Broadway, of Curds Farm Cottages, Hamsey Road, was asleep in bed with wife Alison at 5.15am on Monday when there was an almighty bang .

He ran out of his bedroom to find his landing and kitchen full of smoke.

Lightning had come down an old metal liner in the chimney and blown out much of the electrical system.

The central heating programme had been blown off the wall and telephone sockets were blown apart, said Mr Broadway. There was also a hole in the ceiling where plaster had been blown down.

I called the fire brigade who made sure everything was safe.

In fact, the main electricity supply had been off anyway after a power failure in our area caused by storms on Sunday night.

The power was back on by midnight on Monday and the Broadways are able to use their cooker and get hot water. They are running lamps from unaffected sockets.

They are currently waiting for repairs to start.

Next door, Eb and Pamela Cottingham were also fast asleep in bed when the lightning struck.

I don t know if I jumped out of bed or was blown out of bed, said Mr Cottingham. The noise was beyond description.

Fortunately, damage to the Cottingham s home was confined to a hole in the ceiling and a burned out telephone connection.