Injuries and house fires after lightning strikes

Five people have been treated by paramedics and two homes have been damaged following lightning strikes in Birmingham and the Black Country.

The roof of a property in the Sheldon area of the city and another in Lower Gornal, Dudley, caught fire on Monday morning.

Of the five patients checked over elsewhere in Sheldon, four had minor injuries and one was taken to hospital.

A strike "destroyed" the roof of the terraced home in Birmingham, while at the Black Country location about 18 miles (29km) away, the roof and first floor of the home were damaged.

A lightning strike also damaged a signalling system leading to disruption to rail services between Birmingham New Street and Worcester for the rest of the day.

Fire crews were called at 10:00 BST to Cardoness Place in Lower Gornal, and about an hour later to Greenvale Avenue, Sheldon.

"We believe the [Sheldon] house itself was struck by lightning as part of the storms earlier, which led to a fire in the roof space," said Rob Norman from West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service.

While the damage looked significant, the house was thankfully empty at the time of the strike, added the station commander.

However, there were some injuries reported locally as there was believed to have been more than one lightning strike, but none of those injuries were serious, he said.

Three women and two men needed assessment, said West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), with one of the women taken to hospital.

Her injuries were not believed to be serious.

The other patients were treated for minor injuries and discharged at the scene.

The fire service reported a telegraph pole near to the Sheldon property was damaged by a secondary strike.