Lightning blows hole in Telford house roof
Families in Telford were this afternoon counting the cost of violent storms and flash floods which wreaked havoc across the borough.
Lightning blew a hole in the roof of a house in Chancery Park in Priorslee, causing £50,000 of damage.
And Surinder Kaur of Sutton Hill had a lucky escape when she was rescued from her car by passer-by Dan Flavell after becoming trapped in floodwater in Trescott, near Bridgnorth.
Three cars had to be pulled clear of floodwater underneath a railway bridge in Albrighton, and staff at nearby Albrighton Garden Centre had to sweep away floodwater from its restaurant.
It comes after the borough was hit by thunderstorms and heavy rain earlier today – marking an end to the sub-tropical conditions of recent weeks.
Mrs Kaur was making her way home to Sutton Hill from Quality Care Home in Wolverhampton, where she works, when she became trapped in rising water.
She described how she lost control of her car once in the water.
Mrs Kaur said: "I turned left onto the road, and when I got here at about 8.30 the water didn't look like much. I saw a van ahead of me go through the water on the one side, so I thought I would try and go around. As I went into the water, the car got pushed into the middle."
Mr Flavell said: "I saw them drive in and thought they might go across, then I saw the car get taken by the current.
"I went over and opened up her back doors and told her to get out, but she was in shock and didn't know what I was saying, so I grabbed her around the waist and got her out."
Mrs Kaur's husband Piarah Ram said: "If it wasn't for that man helping her, she could have died in there."
The homeowner of the house in Priorslee, who did not want to be named, said he had been woken by a loud boom shortly before 5.30am today. He said the damage would take two months to repair and estimated it would cost £50,000.
Albrighton Garden Centre, in Newport Road, escaped any lasting damage but its restaurant was flooded.
