Dramatic CCTV footage capture the moment lightning strikes house in Ashton-under-Lyne

Dramatic CCTV has caught the moment a lightning bolt struck a terraced house causing an ‘explosion’ and a fire leading to a street being evacuated.

A ‘loud bang’ was heard for miles around the Ashton-under-Lyne area at around 6.55am on Friday 7 January as the bolt struck the roof of the home.

The strike instantly caused a fire in the attic of the end terraced house on the corner of Store Street and Picton Street, off Oldham Road in Greater Manchester.

Houses in the surrounding are had to be evacuated. Credit: MEN MEDIA

A resident on Picton Street said: “It was such a loud bang, it felt like it shook the house, then before we knew it there were blue lights everywhere.

“It’s the last thing you expect to wake up to.”

Emergency services responded straight away and evacuated nearby homes, with residents taking shelter in the Happy Hedgehogs Pre-School.

Businesses and homes were left without power for some time while the incident was dealt with.

Firefighters worked for hours to remove charred debris from the house. Credit: MEN MEDIA

Another resident said: “I don’t remember hearing it but it must have woke me up.

"As I came downstairs all I could see was blue lights and people leaving their homes, it was all quite scary at first I didn’t know what was going on.”One side of the roof on the property is completely destroyed with extensive damage inside the attic.Firefighters worked for hours to remove charred debris from the house, including blankets and old books and CDs.Luckily no-one was injured in the blaze, and residents were allowed back into their houses by around 11am.