A Deal homeowner was sat in her lounge when lightning struck her bedroom above causing half of her home to burst into flames.

The woman, who has lived at the property in Dover Road for 20 years, was only prompted to leave when her neighbours came to usher her out.

She told KentOnline : "I was in my lounge and there was this tremendous noise.

"It sounded like a cannon going off, louder than a gun.

"The TV went off and within seconds, my neighbours behind me came to the house. They were looking at the roof and telling me I had to get out.

"That was the first that I knew that there was a fire."

Crews in two engines rushed to the house to help extinguish the blaze which happened around 3pm on Friday.

It occurred during a freak storm over the town which caused High Street shops to flood, drains to back up and the roof of an Aldi supermarket to start to collapse.

The bolt is thought to have hit the aerial of the four-bedroom property, travelling through the roof and attic and shedding debris across two bedrooms.

Subsequent smoke and water damage has destroyed two bedrooms and the surrounding landing of the home the woman shares with her husband, including personal belongings such as clothes and jewellery.

He had been in Sandwich at the time and rushed home, sourcing tarpaulin sheets to temporarily protect their property which remains uninhabitable.

The woman said: "It's an act of God. We don't know why these things happen, but my neighbours and the fire brigade were marvellous. I'd like to say thank you.

"One firefighter said of all the lightning strikes he's known, this was the only one he knew to cause a fire."

She continued: "It's going to have to be rebuilt upstairs. We have roofers coming in.

"I've packed up as many of our things and washed as many of our clothes as we can. We've just got to make the best of it."

Kent Fire and Rescue Service have been asked for more information about their investigation into the incident.

Read more: All the latest news from Deal