Essex lightning strike pub landlady describes 'explosion'

A landlady has spoken of hearing an "almighty explosion" as a lightning strike caused extensive damage to her pub.

Lauren Sutherland, who runs the Oakwood Inn, in Holland-on-Sea, Essex, said her family and staff got out of the Grade II listed building safely.

The lightning strike happened at about 09:45 BST on Tuesday.

The mother-of-two said she was "trying to come to terms" with what happened and added the pub would be restored.

She said her family were now living with her parents.

"I'm still in quite a state of shock as I just had to stand there and watch her burn, I'm just trying to come to terms that I've lost my home and my business in one day."

Ms Sutherland said: "At around 09.45 I was in the kitchen in the pub, cooking, getting ready for the lunchtime trade, and we just heard this almighty explosion, I thought the oven had exploded.

"I was cooking a curry and the pot lifted off the oven, someone shouted that we'd been hit by lightning.

"Luckily, my little girl had been taken to nursery, but my wife was upstairs with my son. He's only seven months old."

She said they all got out, safely, including two members of staff, and her chef turned the electricity off.

"It just happened so quickly, it just ripped through the roof, the back of the roof is completely gone," she told BBC Essex.

The family's living area upstairs had been "destroyed".

Downstairs, the pub has been damaged by smoke and water, with a structural engineer due to inspect the building.

"The community were fantastic," Ms Sutherland said.

"Just strangers and customers and people offering us somewhere to sleep for the night, it's quite overwhelming really.

"People have been donating baby clothes, we've been inundated. We're just really grateful. I can't thank people enough.

"I'm still in quite a state of shock, as I just had to stand there and watch her burn, I'm just trying to come to terms that I've lost my home and my business in one day.

"The plan is we will rebuild, we will be back but it's a slow process, she's a Grade II listed building and she'll need to be put back to what she was before and that's what my plan is."

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