Information

Freak storm shock for family

A family in Crewe got the shock of their lives when their home was hit by lighting during a freak storm. The Gawron family were forced to leave their home when a bolt of lightning travelled down their TV aerial after windows and sockets exploded.

Martyna Gawron, 29, said her two children, Laura, four, and Fabian, two, were petrified when the storm hit at about 7.30pm.

She said: “My husband Sylwester and my kids were at home when the storm started.

“I think the lightning hit the TV aerial on the roof and everything just exploded.

“My children were really scared and were hiding under a blanket and screaming. There was a lot of smoke.

“The glass in the front upstairs window has gone and the window at the back has broken too.

“The telephone box in the living room blew up. It was on the wall, about four metres away from the sofa, and had been thrown on to the sofa.

“My children were sitting on the sofa so it’s amazing they weren’t hurt.”

There is now a hole in the kitchen floor where the dog bowl was. The bowl itself was destroyed.

The family still haven’t been allowed back into their home and are currently staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Crewe.

“Firefighters entered each home and made assessments of the damage and potential hazards.

“One property took the lightning strike and received the most damage, but the other properties were also affected.

“The properties experienced power surges and two properties had total electrical power loss.

“There was a smell of burning inside the properties. Some properties suffered roof and window damage, others socket damage.”