A bolt of lightning blew the roof off this house during fierce thunderstorms which swept over Britain.
Emergency services were called to the detached house in South Molton, Devon, after it was struck at around 4.30am yesterday.
Five fire engines arrived at the scene to tackle the blaze, including a turntable ladder to extinguish the flames which had engulfed the roof and first floor.
The British Red Cross Fire and Emergency Support Services team also attended along with teams from Western Power, the Environment Agency and South West Water.
Fire crews contained the blaze to the first floor and roof of the house and were damping down by 7am.
David Bartlett, of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, said: 'The building was struck by lightning which caused a fire in the roof space.
'It is not common for a fire to break out after a house being struck by lightning - it was unlucky it took hold and ignited something flammable.'
A spokesman for the brigade added: 'The roof and first floor of the property was severely damaged. The ground floor sustained severe water damage.'
Residents living nearby described the lightning strike as 'like a bomb going off'.
Twitter used elldorado89 wrote: '@TaraWalker67 @mezzarino woke me up, thought a bomb had gone off! House on fire in South Molton, think it was the lightening.'
At 10.52am chxsingmelody tweeted: 'Omfg a house caught fire in South Molton because of the thunder and lightning.'
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