Woman alerted by neighbour after lightning strikes Caddington house

The house in Caddington caught fire when it was struck by lightning

A woman whose home caught fire after it was struck by lightning only escaped after her neighbour woke her up.

The house in Caddington, Bedfordshire, was hit during thunderstorms over the East of England on Wednesday evening.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue crews managed to contain a fire that had broken out in the roof.

The householder, called Deb, said the fire "tore through the loft at quite a rate", with the property suffering water and smoke damage.

She said the lightning strike "caused a bang", but she did not wake, and was instead woken up by her neighbour.

"He banged and banged on the glass screaming at us and just said 'get out'," she added.

"You kind of go numb, it was absolutely tipping it down, it was all a bit of mayhem.

"The fire teams have been incredible".

The electrical storm, which hit England on Wednesday, captured in nearby Watford by a BBC Weather Watcher