Saved from lightning ... by M&S slippers!
WHEN Brian Phillips was blasted off his feet by a bolt of lightning that struck his house, fortunately he was wearing his slippers. But they weren’t just any old slippers, they were his Marks & Spencer slippers.
Paramedics who checked him over found he was completely unscathed by the experience, despite being thrown 5ft into his kitchen wall, and believe the thick rubber soles of the £15 Christmas present from his daughter grounded him and saved his life.
The retired BT worker said: ‘It was the biggest bang I have ever heard. It sounded like it was in the room with me while I flew back against the wall. I was dazed when I got up and I couldn’t work out what had happened. I didn’t know if it was a bomb going off or a gas explosion.’
Quoting the much-parodied M&S slogan, he joked: ‘They’re not just any slippers – they’re M&S slippers.’
Violent storms were raging over parts of the country on Sunday night as Mr Phillips, 65, stood in his kitchen wielding a 10in carving knife to cut a piece of meat off a turkey to give to his cat, Emma. When the lightning bolt hit his house in Bedford, Bedfordshire, as millions of volts made their way to the earth it hit Mr Phillips and he was thrown against a wall – and was still clutching the knife when he came to his senses a few moments later.
‘It would have been quite ironic for me to have survived being struck by lightning only to have stabbed myself with a razor sharp carving knife,’ he said.
Stumbling outside, he saw other neighbours had left their homes after lightning strikes. One said their fireplace had exploded while others had lost their internet and phone connections.
About 90 per cent of people struck by lightning survive, but serious injuries to internal organs and the nervous system are common.
The widower, whose wife, Margaret, died from cancer aged 62 three years ago, was checked over by paramedics who advised he get a hospital check-up. Mr Phillips said: ‘They told me to go to hospital but it wasn’t practical. I’ve been electrocuted before and fallen through a roof in the past. I am like a cat, I have got nine lives. I felt a little dodgy after banging into the wall but I am carrying a little bit of weight which probably padded me in the blast.’
The size ten slippers, which were showing signs of wear and tear after six months use, have received a reprieve from the bin after saving their owner’s life. ‘I’m going to keep hold of them after that,’ said Mr Phillips.
An M&S spokesman said: ‘It sounds like Mr Phillips had a pretty shocking experience. We’re delighted he is safe and blown away to hear that our humble slippers played a part in saving his life.’