A terrified family fled their Mount home after a lightning strike.
The couple’s two young children aged three and one, were playing in the front room of the house in Roman Close when the bolt hit a BT pylon some 25 metres away.
The charge flashed through metal cables into the house, blowing plaster off the walls and setting fire to the telephone socket.
No-one was hurt and Watch Commander Chris Bell, of Huddersfield fire station, said: “They did the right thing in getting out and calling us”.
Fire crews found damage in four other properties after the lightning strike this afternoon and there was damage to phones and a TV set.
Mr Bell said: “It was the first time I have seen anything like that.
“The children had been playing behind the sofa where the phone socket was but were not hurt, even though there was a loud bang.
“The smoke alarms set off and the family got out very quickly.
“We traced the cables and found the metal core had been almost burned away”.
In a day of freak storms, two people were killed when they were struck by lightning while walking in the Brecon Beacons in Wales. A third was detained in hospital having been injured when the lightning struck.
Here are some pictures from the storm on Wednesday night
