Worcestershire school evacuated after lightning strike
GoogleA primary school had to be evacuated after a lightning strike during afternoon storms.
Pupils at Wilden All Saints School in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, were taken to a nearby village hall after the strike just after 13:45 BST. There were no reports of any injuries.
One pupil, Jamie, described a "big bang" and a strike that "shook the school", according to his mum Sarah.
It had left his friend feeling "very upset and shaken", he had told her.
Two passengers were rescued from a van that was trapped in flood water on Chevington Lane, Pershore, after the fire service was called to the vehicle at about 14:55 BST.
Former Environment Agency manager Dave Throup tweeted there was 14mm (0.55 in) of rain in 15 minutes and 20mm (0.79 in) in half an hour at Holme Lacy, Hereford, which was "a lot of rain in a short time".
Pupils had just finished sitting their SAT exams when the strike happened, Jamie's mother explained.
"The children were taken to a safe place while the storm continued and we were asked if we could possibly pick the children up from school early," she added.
The hit "took out all the power to school, set off all the alarms, took out the internet and all of our communication," said the school's executive head Caroline Unitt.
"With all the alarms going off all the children had to go outside."
SarahThe lightning strike resulted in a small fire and affected the school's telephone system, said the fire service.
"A crew from Wyre Forest Fire Station attended to investigate with a thermal imaging camera," the fire service said in a statement.
The incident was handed over to school electricians and the fire service left at 14:14, the statement added.
The school said it would be open as normal on Wednesday.
A yellow weather warning about heavy showers and thunderstorms was in place for parts of the West Midlands until 22:00 BST on Tuesday.
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