Ben Nevis hit by spectacular lightning strike

A spectacular lightning strike on the UK's highest mountain has been caught on camera.

The strike, which came during a thunderstorm on Monday evening, is thought to have shattered a stone pillar at the summit of Ben Nevis.

It was captured in an image taken by a BBC Weather Watcher from Corpach, near Fort William.

BBC Scotland Weather said the UK and Ireland recorded 28,000 lightning flashes on Monday .

Most of them were concentrated over north-west Scotland and Ireland amid heatwave conditions.

A further 4,800 lightning flashes were recorded across Scotland on Tuesday.

The damage to the pillar was spotted on Tuesday by Kinlochleven-based mountain guide Rich Pyne, who has been to the top of the 1,345m (4,413ft) mountain 562 times.

The structure once had a metal plate - which had been missing before - with descriptions of locations visible from the edge of the peak's North Face.

Mr Pyne said: "I was puzzled why half the stone pillar was missing and rock and the cement doughnut from the pillar's top were in pieces.

"I've been working full-time in the Highland mountains for 10 years with regular ascents up Ben Nevis, so I notice changes up there as I see the place almost daily through the summer."