In the violent storms last Monday a strange incident struck near Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, South Wales.

Annie Dobson was sitting in her living room with her husband when there was a loud crack of thunder. “Between us in the centre of the room this very, very bright white light appeared, it was about 15 to 18 inches in diameter,” Mrs Dobson told BBC Wales. “The ball just appeared around about head height, it didn’t move, it just appeared. The light was so bright that it cast shadows, even though we had lights on in the room at the time.” The ball then vanished with “an absolutely horrendous bang” and the power in the house went off for around 15 seconds before coming back on again. Afterwards there was no sign of damage or evidence that the ball of light had been in the room.

“There was no smell, nothing fell from it, it was just a ball that was there for a split second,” Mrs Dobson explained.

At the same time, another eyewitness upstairs in the same house saw another very bright light drawn from the landing into his bedroom.

This entire incident was probably a case of ball lightning, a rare and fascinating weather phenomenon. These glowing balls of light come in a range of colours and sizes, often drawn into buildings where they can be attracted to electrical equipment before exploding with a deafening blast. Despite their light, noise and appeal for electrical things, they rarely cause damage or injury. However, what exactly they are, or what causes them, remains a mystery.