Care Home in Sussex hit by lightning strikes overnight

Parts of East and West Sussex have been hit by lightning strikes overnight after the Met Office issued a thunderstorm warning.

Four engines from East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (ESFRS) were called to a fire at two homes in Polegate, following a lightning strike.

The roof of a care home in Elmer was damaged after being struck, while a university building in Chichester also sustained damage to its roof and power system, said West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (WSFRS).

The services said no-one was injured in the incidents.

ESFRS was called at 01:05 BST to reports of a lightning strike at the Brookside Avenue properties in Polegate.

The service said crews put the fire out using pumping equipment and a hosereel jet and conducted smoke clearance.

Home visits were also carried out at neighbouring properties.

WSFRS crews were called to Beach View, a residential home for adults with learning disabilities, in Alleyne Way in Elmer at 01:45 BST.

Jim Mackay, from West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, told BBC Sussex that alongside “severe damage” to the property’s gable-end wall, a first-floor bathroom and bedroom in which a resident was sleeping had been affected.

But firefighters were able to move eight residents and two staff to other rooms in the building, where they received medical checks.

They have now been moved to a rest centre in Bognor Regis while repairs take place to the home.

BBC