A 72-YEAR-old man was left with burns after a lightening bolt struck his television aerial and set his living room on fire.

Laurence Cawley

A 72-YEAR-old man was left with burns after a lightening bolt struck his television aerial and set his living room on fire.

Trevor Bush, who lives with his wife Carol in a detached home in Leavenheath, was reading on his settee with the television on in the background when the lightening struck on Sunday evening.

The lightening bolt struck the television aerial on the top of the house and shot down the cable into the couple's living room. It set three separate fires wrecking their carpets, items of furniture, electrical equipment and the patio door.

In his bid to put out the fire, Mr Bush suffered burns to his hands, torso and legs but he declined to be taken to hospital.

Explaining what happened, Mr Bush, of Campion Way, said: “My wife was on the telephone and I've got the television on. I wasn't watching it as I was reading at the time.

“There was this almighty bang and when I looked up there were flames climbing up the wall.

“I did absolutely the wrong thing in that I got a bowl of water and put the fire out. But my wife looked over to the other side of the room and all the curtains were going up in flames. The dog did a runner.”

Mr Bush, who sustained burns whilst trying to remove the curtains, called in the fire service.

“The adrenalin all kicks in,” said Mr Bush, who 10 years ago chased a thief up six flights of stairs to get his money back during an incident in Istanbul.

He praised the emergency services for their quick response adding: “I wasn't expecting that on a Sunday evening.”

By the time of the fire service arrived, the blaze had been put out by Mr Bush.