Lightning blows hole in church and knocks cross off

A church was struck by lightning which left a huge hole in the wall and a cross strewn on the ground.

You might have images of dark horror films and evil portents, but in truth, it was just the weather breaking yesterday, bringing large electrical storms to parts of the UK that hadn’t seen rain in some time.

For most, it was a relief to see some rain after weeks of dry weather, and farmers must have been celebrating.

However, for the congregation at the Hebron Chapel in Rhewl, Denbighshire, the storm has some serious consequences.

It was struck by a bolt of lightning that did some serious damage, blowing out the windows, leaving a significant hole in the small building, and knocking down a big cross that had previously been atop the church roof.

Property Photographix

In the aftermath, rubble was left more than 40 metres away after the freak weather incident.

The 120-year-old building was struck at around 7:30pm on Saturday evening, as the heavy downpour and electrical storm got started.

Luckily, there was no-one in the building at the time and no-one was hurt.

Photographer Brad Beazley was quickly on hand to check what happened, having seen a flash not far from his house.

He said that the storm had been ramping up for some time, with around 45 minutes of thunder, as the weather deteriorated.

From their mountainside home, they could see what was happening outside.

"The next thing there was a massive flash at about the same height as we were - it was the same height as the trees on the side of the mountain,” Brad told BBC News.

"That was scary. There was a big bang."

The lightning took out the power in his house, as well as cracking around the entire valley, setting nearby car alarms off.

By the time Brad and his son had drove down to the church, the fire crews were already there.

North Wales Fire Service

"The cross had been hit and the front windows had been hit and there was debris about 40m away,” he continued.

"I've seen lightning strikes similar in South Africa but not in the UK."

In a statement, North Wales Fire Service confirmed that the Methodist chapel was hit, damaging the roof and creating a hole in the side of the building.

Now, they’ve cordoned it off and issued a warning to the public as the building may be unsafe.

The spokesperson said: "Crews gained access quickly and cordoned off the area due to structural damage.

"If you live in the Rhewl area please be aware this is very unsafe and it's been cordoned off for this reason."

Topics: UK News, Weather, Weird

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a LADbible journalist and Twin Peaks enthusiast. Despite having a career in football cut short by a chronic lack of talent, he managed to obtain degrees from both the University of London and Salford. According to his French teacher, at the weekend he mostly likes to play football and go to the park with his brother. Contact Tom on [email protected]

@TPWagwim