Terrifying footage released by firefighters in Cornwall shows the moment lightning strikes the roof of a newly built home.
If my interactions today have taught me anything, it's that there are two types of people in the UK today (5 September). Those who woke up in the middle of the night to cracks of thunder and pounding rain, and those who slept through the whole ordeal, blissfully unaware.
I have to admit I was part of the latter group, but I can't imagine anyone would have been able to sleep through the terrifying boom of thunder that rang out as the lightning struck a housing estate on the edge of Redruth as the dramatic weather continued today.
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The footage, shared by Tolvaddon Community Fire and Rescue station in Camborne, shows the bright flash of lightning strike the roof at the end of a row of houses at the estate, which is still under construction. Even after the strike from the sky dies away, sparks continue to roll down the roof of the house, seemingly knocking a slate off one corner of the home.
The sheer force of the strike definitely looked like it could do some significant damage, but a spokesperson for the fire station assured no one had been hurt in the incident.
There was said to be 'slight fire damage' to the buildings, and two pumps and the duty officer were dispatched to deal with the incident.
In a post on Facebook, firefighters urged members of the public to use the 'What 3 Words' system to help firefighters locate incidents. The system, which can be downloaded as an app, is able to pinpoint locations within three metres-squared.
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They wrote: "Crews around the county are currently dealing with numerous incidents involving lightning strikes. Here's one which crews from Tolvaddon have visited this afternoon. Crews had difficulty locating the incident, please consider using 'what 3 words' in addition to the address when reporting an incident."
The strike in Redruth was one of more than 36,000 lightning strikes recorded across the UK over the last day, according to BBC meteorologist Matt Taylor. Weather warnings continued today and are set to last into tomorrow, with the Met Office issuing a yellow thunderstorm warning for the south-west of the UK.
Those in the affected areas have been warned that thunderstorms are 'likely to cause disruption', including poor driving conditions, flooding of 'a few homes and businesses', delays to train services and 'probably some damage to a few buildings and structures from either lightning strikes or gusty winds'.
Emily Brown