Inside the family home struck by lightning leaving 10 foot hole and £20,000 worth of damage

A pregnant mother has been left with a £20,000 bill after lightning blew a 10-foot hole in her home.

Tara Craven recalled how a ‘bomb-like’ explosion engulfed her three-bedroom house in Gristhorpe near Filey, North Yorkshire at 8pm on Wednesday, March 25.

The mother-of-two, 28, was washing dishes while her husband Joseph, 32, was bathing their sons, aged two and three, when the house shook and lights blew out.

The family rushed outside with their dog to discover their home had been hit by a massive lightning strike.

‘We had no idea what had happened – other than it came as a huge shock, it was terrifying’, said Mrs Craven, who is just four weeks from giving birth.

‘Outside all of the car alarms were going off and the house began filling with dust and a strong, electrical burning smell just filled the air.’

Firefighters attended the explosion, which ripped off the chimney and part of the roof.

Pictures of the home showed it had also sustained significant damage on the inside, with destroyed walls, caved-in ceilings and the conservatory roof smashed.

The strike also exploded their TV, filling their living room with dust and debris.

With their electricity now shut off for safety reasons, the family were forced to relocate to a Travelodge in Scarborough.

Mrs Craven said: ‘We went into our garden the next day and we found bricks scattered up to 30 feet away, meaning it was really powerful.

‘Bricks also damaged our next-door neighbour’s house, and one hit the roof of another neighbour’s car.’

The mother said her family had yet to be told when they would be able to return home.

She added: ‘At least no one was hurt or worse, so we have to count our blessings.

‘We don’t know when we will be able to move back in, which is frustrating.’

More than £2,000 has been raised in an online fundraiser to assist the family.

A number of other homes were left without power in the Gristhorpe area after a telegraph pole was struck by the storm.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement: ‘Crews from Scarborough and Filey responded to a report of a telegraph pole that had been struck by lightning resulting in a power surge that affected a number of properties causing electrical sockets to blow and a loss of power.

‘Crews carried out house to house checks for signs of fire and giving advice to residents. The incident was left with electricity board engineers.’

Metro has approached the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and Northern Powergrid for comment.

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