Fires have broken out at two homes in the West Midlands after they were struck by lightning. 

West Midlands Fire Service said they were called to Cardoness Place in Lower Gornal at around 10.04am today (Monday, August 12). 

The first of the fire crews arrived within three minutes of being mobilised with a 4 x 4 brigade response vehicle, three fire engines and an aerial platform sent to the scene. 

The fire was caused by a lightning strike and damaged around a third of the roof and also affected the first floor. 

It was extinguished using hose reels by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus. 

Less than an hour later at 10.51am, four fire crews, an aerial platform and a drone team also responded to a fire on Greenvale Avenue in Sheldon. 

The fire was caused by a lightning strike and destroyed the roof of a terraced house. 

A nearby telegraph pole was damaged by a secondary strike. 

The fire service added: "We understand that the ambulance service took a neighbour to hospital for precautionary checks, and assessed four more people after a property was struck in nearby Mapledene Road."