Crews from Wokingham Road, Caversham Road and Wokingham fire stations were called to a home in Addington Gardens at around 2pm after a lighning bolt struck the crest of the roof, breaking through and igniting insulation material below.

They spent around two hours battling the inferno, which spread across the roof and through cavity walls, and are due to revisit the house to inspect the damage later tonight.

Firefighters were called by an elderly lady who was in the house when the bolt struck, and had to dismantled part of the tiled roof to extinguish the blaze.

At 4.45pm the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service tweeted: "Crews have now left incident in Woodley. A property was struck by lightening and a fire developed in the roof and a cavity wall.

"Crews used 4 breathing apparatus, 1 hose reel and 2 ladders to tackle the fire. They will be re-inspecting the property later tonight.

Reading and much of the South East was battered by driving rain and huge thunderstorms this afternoon, with the Environment Agency warning of potential flooding.

Shortly after being called out to the blaze, at 2.30pm, the service tweeted: "Crews from Wokingham Rd, Caversham Rd and Wokingham are dealing with an house fire in Addington Gardens, Woodley.

"The incident in Woodley is as a result of a lightening strike an aerial appliance and a command vehicle have been sent to the incident."