Manx fire crews attend blazes after lightning strikes

Lightning storms have illuminated the night sky over the Isle of Man and caused fires to break out.

Crews in Peel and Ramsey tackled some outside fires reported after lightning strikes, the Isle of Man Fire and Rescue service confirmed.

In Douglas, a fire crew said it also visited a "lightning-related incident".

The storm, which lasted about two hours, is not believed to have caused any further damage.

Neil Young, from the Isle of Man Met Office, said the storm "developed properly at about midnight" with "quite a lot of the lightning out to the east".

The photograph of the thunderstorm was taken in Colby

Douglas Councillor Frank Schuengel said he got "very wet" whilst capturing footage of the storm from Summer Hill.

He spent an hour filming outside because "it's not something we see all the time", he said.

"It seemed to move in and out… when the storm was above the rain was torrential."

Earlier this year a lightning strike caused severe damage to the roof of a home on the Isle of Man, leaving the owners with no choice but to temporarily leave.