A LONG Sutton couple had a lucky escape after their home was struck by lightening on Saturday.
Keen radio enthusiast John Petters (59) and his wife Tessa (55) were shocked when they heard a loud explosion at their Hospital Drove home at about 4.30pm.
The lightning strike came through a telegraph pole outside their home and shattered their telephone and answerphone.
Mr Petters said: “My wife was using the computer in one of the bedrooms which was the closest point to where the lightning struck.
“She then heard an enormous bang and saw a flash which she thought was the chimney coming down.
“I was outside in my radio shed because when we get storms, I have to disconnect all the radio equipment.
“My wife came running out to me in a panic, asking what had happened and checking to see that I was alright.”
Fire crews from Long Sutton and Holbeach attended two homes in the area after residents reported smells of burning carpets and cables after the lightning strike.
Mr Petters said: “The router for our computer exploded in a back room and it happened at a time when my wife was sleeping in it, it could have caused serious injury.
“There were lots of bits all over the place and I later discovered that the lightening had gone through the control box that protects the router.
“My son was in an outside cabin actually using his computer when the lightning strike blew the window shutters open and tripped the electricity mains in his cabin.
“Fortunately, there was no damage to the outside of the house and we were very lucky just to have a bit of burning on the window and slight damage to the plaster.”
Meanwhile, things are slowly getting back to normal for another family in Hospital Drove affected by the lightening strike.
Louise Chambers and her three children were left without a TV, internet and telephone line on Saturday after the main socket in their living room was blown off the wall.
Their phone line and internet connection was repaired by BT engineers on Tuesday, but they are waiting for insurers to decide whether they can have a new TV.
Miss Chambers (26) said: “It’s a bit strange not having a TV and we had the family round on Saturday night for a takeaway without having anything to watch.”
A BT spokesman said: “We are in contact with Miss Chambers and we have sent out a replacement broadband hub to replace the damaged one.
“We also had engineers who attended the property and restored the telephone line back into service.”