Hove shop evacuated after lightning strike

A shop in Hove was evacuated after it was struck by lightning during a thunder storm this evening (Sunday 8 September).

The One Stop shop, in Court Farm Road, Hangleton, suffered the lightning strike at about 6pm and was soon smokelogged.

The lightning set the alarms off at the convenience store, activating a ‘smoke cloak’ designed to foil burglars.

East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service sent two crews from Preston Circus in Brighton who found little damage and who used industrial fans to clear the smoke.

Brett Mendoza, who lives near by, posted a picture on Twitter shortly afterwards showing firefighters in the shop as the staff waited outside.

He tweeted: “One of the loudest bangs of lightning I’ve ever heard. Knew it hit close. Turns out it hit the shop a few doors down.

“We were sitting in front room, never seen a flash so bright or a bang so loud. Then the fire engines appeared.”

Another neighbour, Scott Kennedy, said on Twitter that it “shook the house”.

No one was hurt and the shop was trading again an hour later.