Neighbours watch on in horror as lightning strike destroys family home in Bristol

Neighbours were forced to look on in horror as a detached family home was set on fire by a lightning strike in Bristol.

The house in Emersons Green, just east of the city, caught fire on Monday evening after being hit by a thunderbolt amid storms across the West Country.

The property was engulfed in flames shortly before 6pm - though fortunately, everyone inside escaped unharmed.

One person sustained an injury near the scene of the house fire, though this was unrelated to the incident itself and they were treated by ambulance crews.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to the blaze at 5.55pm, and eventually brought it under control by 10pm.

"Upon arrival, crews found the house well alight with significant damage," a spokesman for the service said.

"Firefighters were able to get the fire under control and extinguish the majority of it using high-pressure hose reels and water jets."

The fire is believed to have been caused by the lightning strike.

Just a few miles away, Bristol Airport suspended all flights following the electrical storm - which wreaked havoc on its radar and air traffic control.

"Following the earlier electrical storm, Bristol Airport remains closed to arriving and departing aircraft whilst engineers investigate a fault with air traffic control systems," an airport spokesman said.

"Customers should contact their airline with any specific flight queries."

Some passengers had to be sent home as travel chaos loomed amid the storms, with normal service slated to return by the early hours of Tuesday.

Lightning strikes become more frequent during periods of high temperatures - and the West Country bore the brunt of what some locals dubbed "Armageddon" on social media.

"Bristol is getting nuked right now," one said, pointing to online maps of lightning strikes across the region.

The Met Office recorded more than 23,000 lightning strikes across the county.

Flash flooding struck Bath as the storms swept through Somerset, leaving whole streets underwater.

"These storms brought frequent lightning, with over 23,000 strikes recorded, and up to 35mm of rain falling in a short period across parts of Somerset, leading to some localised flooding," a Met Office spokesman said.

"However, these storms have failed to bring respite from the current spell of hot weather, with temperatures expected to climb towards 39C over the coming days."

The Environment Agency issued flood alerts for areas near Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury following the heavy rainfall.

The Met Office has issued a rare red weather warning for extreme heat, covering six regions of England from Wednesday morning until Thursday night.

Temperatures could reach 40C in the coming days.

The red alert, the first since July 2022, indicates "it is very likely there will be a risk to life", according to the forecaster.

The UK Health Security Agency has warned that the heatwave could prove fatal even for healthy Britons.

A yellow thunderstorm warning had been issued earlier on Monday, cautioning that buildings could be damaged and power cuts were possible alongside flooding.

More to follow...

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter