Lightning bolt leaves a hole in roof of Leominster home

A bolt of lightning blasted a hole in the roof of a house in Leominster and damaged the chimney, causing part of the street to be cordoned off to avoid the danger of falling rubble.

Part of the chimney fell into the loft and a bedroom of the three-storey house in Etnam Street, while some rubble also fell on to cars below and into a passageway to the side of the house.

Marjery Gould, 89, and her niece Barbara Packer, 76, who were in the house when the lightning struck during a storm, said they heard a noise which sounded like an 'explosion'.

But they only realised it was their house that had been hit when firefighters knocked on the door minutes later.

Firefighters were called to the house shortly before 6pm on Sunday, and sections of the path and road were cordoned off for almost 90 minutes while work was carried out to make the chimney stack safe.

Temporary measures were also used to cover the hole in the roof and full repairs are due to be carried out in the next few days.

No-one was injured.

Mrs Gould, who has lived in the house for 40 years, said: "It was a bit of a shock at the time – at first we did not realise what had happened. It was just fortunate that some people living in flats across the road saw it and dialled 999."

Mrs Packer, who lives in Solihull but was visiting her aunt over the weekend, said: "It was like an explosion."