Sandiacre family unaware of lightning strike roof fire saved by neighbour

Neighbours alerted Sharon Hopkinson to the fire

A woman says she "would be dead" had she not been alerted by a neighbour that her bungalow was on fire following a lightning strike.

Sharon Hopkinson was at home with her granddaughter in Sandiacre, Derbyshire, when it was struck on Wednesday.

Mrs Hopkinson said she had seen a "flash" but was "oblivious" the blaze was spreading across the roof.

It was only when she got outside that she saw the extent of the fire. "I think how lucky we were," she said.

"The roof is on my bed," Mr Hopkinson said

The smoke alarms did not go off because the fire was in the loft, Mrs Hopkinson said

"I saw a man running on the green [in front of the bungalow] waving, shouting 'get out of the house, it's on fire'," she said.

"I couldn't smell or see anything and the smoke alarm wasn't going off.

"We got out and saw the roof engulfed in thick smoke and flames... I was just numb.

"If we had been in bed, we would have burned alive."

The self-employed driving instructor, said she and her husband Kevin, who had been away in Birmingham at the time of the fire, were devastated after "losing everything".

Mrs Hopkinson said she and her husband Kevin were "in limbo"

Mrs Hopkinson was told nothing was salvageable

Mrs Hopkinson said the roof collapsed during the fire and all of her furniture was damaged and unsalvageable.

"There is not a single part of the bungalow left unscathed," she said.

"The ceiling is down in big chunks. There is no roof - you go in and look up to the sky.

"We don't know what to do. We have a feeling we are under insured."

Mrs Hopkinson said the fire had "obliterated everything"

Mrs Hopkinson, who is now staying with her daughter, said she has been overwhelmed by the support of her neighbours in Kings Road.

Her stepdaughter has started fundraising to replace furniture the couple have lost.

"You walk through the lounge and are climbing over debris," Mrs Hopkinson added

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