Duck! Massive lightning bolt strikes house in dramatic footage captured from storm chaser's car

A 'storm chaser' has filmed a dramatic lightning strike while driving in Sussex
The motorist filmed the dramatic footage while they were looking for a storm
In one frame, the lightning strike almost over exposes the camera that is filming

Published: 09:48 BST, 1 July 2021 | Updated: 10:35 BST, 1 July 2021

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This is the terrifying moment a lightning bolt was captured on film while a car was driving through west Sussex.

The footage wash shot as the car was passing through Filttleworth, west Sussex.

‘Storm chaser’ Liane Johnstone captured the spectacular strike as she drove through the village and said her instinct was to duck as the massive bolt shot down from the clouds.

Ms Johnstone, 42, said the ‘ferocious’ lightning strike on June 28 was followed by heavy rain. Locals reported the storm affected TV services and knocked out Sky boxes.

This is the moment a bolt of lightning struck on the outside of Filttleworth, west Sussex

The high voltage bolt made contact with the ground a short distance from the car

Fortunately nobody in the area was injured although local residents reported that they lost their TV signal and had problems with their Sky boxes.

Ms Johnstone said: 'The clip it was filmed in Fittleworth. My reaction was to duck as I was driving. For a split second everyone in the car just went quiet. I just stayed focused on the road.

'We are storm chasers and this is our very first season, in these very first few months of chasing it’s been really interesting, our very first chase was epic we ended up in an epic hailstorm.

'This was on Tuesday was the shot of a lifetime, not 10-15 mins prior to this strike I had had the fear of God put in me when we witnessed scud cloud touching down on the ground in Fernhurst just outside of Midhurst and I debated about turning round and heading back the way we came from, but we decided to push on and we are really pleased we did as we got this shot, the shot we was chasing for all afternoon as we had all day been on the outside of the cells that was crossing over the south coast.'

According to the No one was hurt but the residents did lose their tv and sky box.

The pictures are of the cell that that strike was on the front edge of, we had no option but to drive through that to get home.