A shop has been cordoned off by police after being hit by a massive bolt of lightning - which sounded like a "bomb blast".

Residents in Northdown Road, Margate, were woken at about 4.20am after hearing "a big bang".

The bolt hit the Fone Hut store, dislodging roof tiles and bricks.

A video shared with KentOnline shows debris lying on the pavement outside the store and a police car parked nearby.

A member of staff from Days Newsagents, which neighbours Fone Hut, compared the sound of the lightning hitting the building to a "bomb blast".

"Lightning hit the place," he said. "I haven't seen it on the inside, but I would say the wall outside is falling down.

"I was having a shower getting ready to come to the shop and I heard the noise. It was a big bang, like a bomb blast.

Video courtesy of @Urchin_Wines/Twitter

"It was a little bit scary. I came down and I saw police came and put the tape on it.

"That shop is now closed and all the others are open."

Spokesmen from the ambulance and fire services say they were not called to the scene.

Police have confirmed they arrived in Northdown Road just after 4.50am to a report that debris had fallen from a building following a suspected lightning strike.

Building control officers have also been made aware.

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