Two pensioners were forced to flee their home in Canterbury in the early hours after a lightning bolt set light to their garage.

The blaze badly damaged the building and destroyed its contents in Hassall Reach off Tonford Lane during this morning's dramatic storms.

The flames threatened to burn down the bungalow, belonging to Colin and Heather Goldsack.

Retired driving instructor Colin, 76, used a garden hose on his conservatory, which was melting in the heat, but fortunately firefighters arrived in the nick of time and put the blaze out.

He said: "It was quite alarming because we were woken by an almighty bang at about 2am. At the same time a neighbour came over and banged on our window to alert us.

"I went outside to investigate and smelt burning and saw a glow coming from the garage. I trained a garden hose on my conservatory because the heat was melting the UPVC windows and managed to get my hair singed in the process.

"My car was also on the driveway and I had to move that pretty quickly too, although it still suffered some heat damage at the back.

"Fortunately, the fire service was very quickly on the scene and put it out with a big jet of water.

"But it destroyed everything in the garage and badly damaged the building. We have lost thousands of pounds worth of property, including two fridge freezers, a tumble dryer and also some personal stuff like family photos.

"I’m a member of Canterbury Bowls Club and my set of bowls and clothing has gone to which is a pain.

“But to be honest, it could have been a lot worse and the house could have gone up too. We have to thank the fire fighters for getting here so quickly and doing a good job.

"Our biggest concern at the moment is getting the power back on in the property and there are a few others in the cul-de-sac who have lost theirs as well.

“We are waiting for the insurance company to assess the damage and hopefully help with the clean-up."

Kent Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was caused by a lightning strike to a pole supplying power lines to the property which blew the main fuse and knocked out electricity to several properties.