These pictures show the devastation caused to a family home in Chalfont St Giles after a lightning bolt struck the house in the early hours of this morning, causing fire to rip through the roof and destroying the house.

John England, who owns the house in The Brow, spoke to the Bucks Free Press, describing the moment he heard an explosion as the lighting struck, saying it "sounded like a bomb going off" while he was checking on his eight-year-old granddaughter.

He said: "At around 3.30am, a lightning bolt hit the house - luckily I was up because I was checking on my granddaughter in the adjoining room.

"I was just getting back into bed and the whole house shook.

"I lifted the loft access trap and as I lifted it and looked up, there was smoke billowing out.

"I got the family out immediately.

"Around six fire engines arrived and we had major damage, both the floors had collapsed, the ceiling had collapsed – it was terrifying.

"The main thing is, we all got out safely."

Mr England, whose wife died of cancer last year, said the damage would take about a year to fix and he is planning to stay with his family while extensive work is carried out to repair the devastation.

His daughter Tina Dennis said they watched the loft go up in flames as they moved the cars out of the driveway.

She said: "My daughter woke us up at around 3 saying she couldn’t sleep because of the rain.

"Then about half an hour, 45 mins after that I could smell something but I wasn’t sure what it was.

"Then I just heard my dad yell 'I think we’ve been hit, the house is on fire, get everyone out of the house now'.

"It was shocking, I think we're we are still in shock."

Fire crews from Gerrards Cross, High Wycombe, Rickmansworth, Slough and Langley raced to the house at 3.51am, along with the Incident Command Unit from Aylesbury and an officer.

Bucks Fire and Rescue confirmed the roof was severely damaged by fire and the first floor was damaged by water and debris.

Firefighters used two jets, one hose reel, four sets of breathing apparatus and a turntable ladder.

Flash flooding caused traffic chaos around south Bucks this morning, with drivers reporting delays of more than an hour to get through town this morning, after storms battered the county overnight.