Lightning causes 'almighty bang' at petrol station

The manager of a petrol station which was hit by lightning says the "almighty bang" caused by the strike was the loudest thing he has ever heard.

Rich Todd, who works at Ledbury Road Services on the A438 at Bushley, Gloucestershire, said "it was very lucky" nobody was hurt in the strike.

The bolt, which is believed to have hit the site's workshop on 15 April, did not cause a fire but there was a power cut and damage to the fuel gauges and electrics.

Repair work is currently under way and the petrol station's owners hope it will be ready to reopen in June.

Todd, who has worked at the filling station since November 2024, said he "didn't really think anything of it" when the thunderstorm got closer.

Even when he heard the strike and the lights went out, he assumed the lightning had hit nearby.

"It was me and two other customers in the shop. We all pretty much - not quite screamed - but it made us jump that's for sure," he said.

"Eventually the power came back on so I tried to reset the pumps and that was when I realised, 'OK, something's up'," he added.

The fridges in the garage had just been restocked with fresh food when the lightning bolt hit and staff said this was donated to The Salvation Army in Gloucester.

Owner of the petrol station Susannah Moffat said she was thankful nobody was hurt and that damage from the strike was covered by insurance.

"A lot of the electrics, the fuel gauge, network switches, basically all the various parts that we need to get it up and running, they all need different things fixing by different contractors," she said.

"Hopefully, by June, we should be fully back up and running," she added.

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