LIGHTNING STRIKE CHAOS
ALIGHTNING strike wrought havoc in a South Wales street after setting fire to a house and blowing up the water mains. The home in East View, Llandow, Vale of Glamorgan, was left without a roof after the blaze caught hold.
Neighbours said the building is soaked inside because the fire service damped it down to ensure nothing more could catch alight. It has also rained since the strike on Friday.
Yesterday the ground outside was covered with roof tiles and the chimney stack stood starkly against the sky.
The householder was not in at the time, but her next-door neighbour, Hannah Tudor, was in when the lightning struck.
“We had smoke coming in because it burned part of our roof and the insulation is black now, so we will have to see what has to be done,” the 30-year-old said.
“It was quite stressful when we were watching the fire because the wind was blowing it across.”
She and her pet whippet Maude were “very scared”.
Hannah, who works for an estate agent, was also worried because she could not find her cat Reggie, who has since been located.
“Another 15 minutes and our roof could have gone up as well,” she said. “I just feel sorry for her.”
Helen Higgins lives on the other side of the lightning-hit house.
She was glad the incident didn’t happen at night because her neighbour would have been at home. She is now staying with relatives.
The 51-year-old was driving home when she saw the flames. “It was totally ablaze,” she said. “It was not so much big flames as just one big glow burning and the wind was just taking the smoke.
“It was pouring with rain and freezing. No-one had electricity and everyone just wanted to make sure everyone was OK.”
Almost 30 homes were affected by the strike.
“There are 20 houses in this street and eight in Grove Road,” Helen said.
“There were fire engines everywhere in the street, everyone was just in shock, you just do not expect that to happen.”
At first she thought house that was alight.
“The lady who lives there said you see things like this happen to people in other parts of the world but not to you,” she said.
The strike, which happened just before 4pm on Friday, left scorch marks up the wall where Helen’s modem had been.
Two of her neighbours it was her were thrown against the wall by the power.
“The electrician said to me, ‘lightning takes no prisoners’,” Helen said.
“The chimney stack does not look safe now.”
Helen spoke to her neighbour over a cup of coffee on Friday night. “She is in total shock,” she said. “It’s just gut-wrenching because it is her home.
“The firefighters said they managed to rescue a few pictures, but because of the water damage upstairs all the water is coming through the floor to downstairs.
“The street lights are working now but we have got no water pressure, no telly or anything.”
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service sent four engines to the scene, which was captured on video by Iwan Apjohn-Williams.
Crews from South Wales Emergency Response also attended.