AN ELDERLY couple have been forced to move out of their Pembroke home after a lightning strike blew the chimney off their house this morning, July 19.

Nearby resident Peter Hyams witnessed the Chapel Hill lightning strike at approximately 7.30am.

“I was watching in the bedroom with a cup of coffee, there was a massive blinding white flash and sparks flying everywhere outside; it even blew the telephone socket on the wall in my study and filled the room with smoke.

“The house that suffered, it blew the top off their electricity transformer.

“I rang the firefighters; the couple were very distressed. I looked at the chimney, most of it had gone through the roof."

He said the elderly couple had moved out while extensive work takes place at the house.

“It’s got to be rewired, it’s blown all the wiring, they’ve got to move out until it’s repaired, and it’s completely taken the chimney down.”

Firefighters from Pembroke Dock were called to the Chapel Hill house, arriving at 8.28am, using ladders and small gear to remove the debris.

The crew left at 9.37am.