The bolt missed their bedroom

He told the BBC: "I heard an absolutely massive bang, and all rubble and beams and stuff started falling on my head.

"So I just covered my head up and then the next thing I knew my girlfriend was shouting to me just to get out as quick as we could.

"So I just jumped up, grabbed some clothes, grabbed the dog, and ran down and jumped out the front-room window."

'I'll never forget'

The force of the strike blew the walls outward as it travelled through the house to the ground, via the bedroom next to the one in which the couple were sleeping.

Mr Strecker said: "I'll probably never forget this day as long as I live.

"I'm just so lucky to be alive. If it had struck in the front room where I was I don't think I'd be here to tell the tale today."

The storms caused problems in various parts of the country.

The house of a couple in Telford, Shropshire, was also struck, causing their television to explode.

More than 30,000 homes in Kent, Sussex and Surrey were left without power.

Rail commuters in Kent faced delays when signalling equipment in Ashford was struck by lightning.