Alderney homes suffer power loss after lightning strikes

LIGHTNING bolts struck two chimneys and wiped out power to half a dozen properties in Alderney yesterday morning.

The 7am storm also blew out phone lines, modems and electrical gadgets around the island.

At Essex Castle, which is set on a hill, lightning struck a brick chimney.

Tens of thousands of volts surged along cables and down into properties below.

Residents spoke of a deafening blast, sparks and a smell of burning.

Mark Barrier, a builder, said he, his partner and their animals were lucky to be uninjured after a bolt travelled down a blocked chimney and towards a cat cage on the floor.