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From Times Online
November 28, 2006

Lightning strikes twice

Simon de Bruxelles

Gerry and Joss Jones had leapt out of bed after hearing a loud bang when a second bolt of lightning struck their house in Plymouth, blasting holes in the roof and melting electrical wiring. The first bolt narrowly missed the sleeping couple as it shot from the TV socket in their bedroom, leaving a trail of damage and smoke. The casualties included a pair of Mr Jones’s trousers, which were destroyed. Less than a minute later the second bolt struck a telephone cable on a pole opposite their home.

Mr Jones, 66, a retired engineer, said: “I leapt out of bed and there was smoke everywhere. I was scrabbling round for clothes and picked up some trousers, but I couldn’t put them on as they had melted. I’m considering getting a lightning conductor.”

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