Boscombe man struck by lightning on his birthday

Landscape gardener Craig Rudkin was halfway through celebrating his 47th birthday on Monday May 17, having been out with family members in the morning.

After returning to his home on Undercliff Road, prior to venturing out to Bournemouth town centre for a meal with friends, Craig retired to his bedroom, at around 3.30pm, when the incident happened.

• Boscombe man electrocuted after lightning strikes flats

Craig said: “I think I was just about to doze off and all I remember was waking up and seeing this blue light coming out of the wall.

“I got lifted up and a big blue light came out of the wall and threw me off the bed.

“I don’t remember much but my family told me that came out of my room and they were all stood next to the window. I have found out since that the lightning came out of the plug socket next to my bed.”

It is thought that Craig, who moved into the ground floor flat of the shared accommodation two weeks ago, was struck by an electrical surge which ran down the inside the building and earthed in his bedroom.

Lightning can kill, but not everyone who's struck by lightning dies from the incident.

People can be struck by lightning whilst indoors, as the surge of electricity can pass through pipes and water.

One of Craig’s family members called for an ambulance, which arrived within minutes.

“It was very dreary afterwards and had a funny sensation in my side and arms,” he added.

“The ambulance came around 20 minutes later and did all their checks and said I was alright, although I was very lucky.

“It was a very scary moment. I saw those stories about the nine-year-old boy up in Manchester who got struck by lightning and died recently, so I know just how lucky I am.”

No one else on the street is known to have been injured during the lightning strike.

The lightning strike was found to have hit to the chimney stack on the boundary between two buildings on Undercliff Road, with the power surge causing the internet of all residents on Undercliff Road to cut out.

The electrical surge also caused damage to residents’ TVs, laptops, plug sockets and water supplies.

Mark Saunders, who lives in the rooftop apartment of the neighbouring building, said: “I was at the window watching the lightning and listening to the thunder and all of a sudden, I heard this massive bang. It genuinely sounded like a bomb had just gone off.

“It was so loud, and then the bricks and tiles started falling down and I was wondering what the hell was going on.

“I then went and had a look around my flat and saw that two plugs were completely ruined. One was melted into the socket and the other had been completely blown in half so then I knew that it was the chimney stack.”

Builders have already surveyed the damaged chimney stack and say that the chimney itself is now blocked up with the eight chimney pots that were on top of it.

Scaffolding has now been set up around the property to mend the chimney stack.