Lightning strikes pensioner's home

A flash of lightning in Londonderry on Tuesday

A pensioner in her 80s has been treated in hospital after her north Belfast home was hit by lightning during thunderstorms which affected many parts of Northern Ireland.

The blast which set fire to the woman's house in Mount Vernon Lane was so powerful it melted pipes and wires.

The woman was discharged from hospital after treatment.

A neighbour, David Hutton, saw an explosion as the 88-year-old's house was struck by lightning on Tuesday.

"My wife and I rushed across the road, and I kicked the door in," he said.

"She was just standing there - she didn't know what was happening because she's old and deaf.

"When we got her out, she collapsed in our arms.

Fire crews attended the blaze at the pensioner's north Belfast home

"I got the garden hose and sprayed the roof until the Fire Brigade came."

Meanwhile, engineers have been working through the night to repair power lines after Tuesday's storms.

The worst affected areas throughout the day were Dungannon and Newry.

At one point 20,000 homes were without electricity.

Belfast was also badly affected.

The lightning blew a hole in a gable wall at a block of flats in Colenso Parade, Stranmillis, but no one was injured.

The Fire Service said they had to deal with 120 calls in under six hours.

However, Fire Brigades Divisional Officer Brian Greer said crews were not overstretched.

Torrential rain

"We were busy in the number of calls we received, but when we got there we were able to check out reasonably quick whether there was any actual fire damage, and we were able to release the crews that had attended to go onto the next call," he said.

"So while we were pushed, we were not overstretched."

NIE will be doing everything possible to get the remaining customers back on to supply as quickly as possible Robin Greer NIE spokesman

BT said the thunderstorm had led to an "unprecedented" number of telephone faults throughout Northern Ireland.

A spokeswoman said its engineers were working flat-out but it would be the weekend before most of the services were restored.

Traffic signals were also knocked out as motorists faced hazardous conditions in torrential rain.

NIE Communications Manager Robin Greer said fresh crews were sent out to begin work on restoring power to the rest of the affected areas at first light on Wednesday.

"NIE will be doing everything possible to get the remaining customers back on to supply as quickly as possible," he said.

"Over 150 NIE engineers and field staff are currently at work on the network to repair the remaining faults."

The Northern Ireland Electricity helpline number is 08457 643 643.