Lightning hits couple's Birchington home

By sleese

A LIGHTNING bolt shattered the wedding dreams of bride-to-be Lisa Burke and her fiance Melvin Bailey.

The couple were finalising plans for their marriage in three weeks' time when a million volts of electricity smashed through the roof of their semi-detached home in Park Avenue, Birchington, in the early hours of this morning.

The blast, just after midnight, set fire to their attic where they had been storing clothes for their honeymoon - and their platinum wedding rings.

Fighting back the tears, they sifted through the charred remains the following morning as they searched for the rings which had disappeared in the blaze.

Eighteen months of preparation had gone up in smoke.

Lisa's two children had been asleep upstairs when the storm broke and had to be rescued from their beds as firemen from Margate and Herne Bay fought the fire.

Melvin, a 43-year-old truck mechanic, said: "We were just getting ready for bed when we heard a huge crack at 12.30am and the lights went out.

"The kids were screaming so we ran to their bedrooms and tried to calm them.

"We didn't realise we had been struck because our neighbour's light, which is normally on, was also out. We knew something nearby had been hit and thought we'd better check.

"Then Lisa, smelled smoke upstairs. She and the kids became hysterical.

"I lifted the hatch to the loft but all I could see was bright orange flames. I shouted to Lisa and the kids to get out."

Lisa, also 43, could only watch in horror as firefighters punched holes in the roof to reach the flames as she clutched her children, Sarah, 12 and James, eight.

She said: "I was standing in the road in my nightie having visions of the whole house going up and losing 18 months of planning for our big day.

"I've worked really hard on this wedding. I was beginning to think things were going wrong when our DJ hurt his back."

The couple's neighbours Allan (cor) Bootes, 55, and Pauline Davis, 53, had been on holiday in Ireland but returned just in time to see fire crews ripping tiles off their roof in a desperate battle to stop the blaze spreading.

Pauline, who works for Thanet council, said: "We drove round the corner and saw blue flashing lights. As we got closer we realised it was our home.

"The fire didn't get into our roof but it was getting hot so the firemen made holes and sprayed inside. It is such a shame because Melvin and Lisa are a lovely couple."

Lisa jetted off to Barcelona later today for a hen weekend with her sister Kim.

Melvin said: "She didn't want to go but the firemen told her she had to go. We're not going to let this stop us.

"We are effectively homeless because we have no power or water - the cold water tank in the loft melted in the heat.

"From what I've been told, the bolt struck our TV aerial and blew out the booster box starting the fire.

"I remember thinking about our lovely home and the new cream carpet we'd just had fitted.

"We were lucky our two cats were out for the night."

The couple are to tie the knot at Salmestone Grange, Margate.

Melvin added: "Many of the clothes we had bought for our honeymoon in Bali have been destroyed and all my motorcycle gear including gloves, helmet and trousers has gone."

Lisa added: "I'm gutted but it could have been a lot worse. But I really hope our wedding rings turn up. We chose them together for our wedding."