TWO families were left homeless after lightning hit a house in Queensbury during freak storms on Tuesday evening.

Firefighters were called to a row of terraced houses at 39 to 43, Kenmore Road at 7.37pm, after lightning blasted a hole in the roof of the middle one and set it on fire.

The family, a couple and their two children, and their pet dog, escaped unhurt.

An officer at Stanmore fire station said that the fire destroyed the roof of the house that was hit, and the roofs of the homes on either side were also badly damaged.

Rajendran Mahendran, 36, of number 43, said he was eating dinner with his family when he heard a massive bang like a bomb exploding.

"The TV went blank, but I wasn't sure what had happened, and carried on eating my dinner," he said.

"Then I saw through the window that somebody was running towards us shouting that next door was on fire.

"As we were running out all the tiles were bursting off the house. The firemen managed to control the fire by taking more tiles off.

"My house is not too bad compared to next door, and they have given us the all-clear to stay here.

"It was very scary and thank God nobody got injured."

Vanraj Momaya, 27, who lives opposite, was getting out of his van when he saw the lightning strike a TV aerial. He ran across the road to warn his neighbours to get out.

His mother, Kalpanan, said: "I heard a very loud sound. It was a frightening experience.

"The neighbours took refuge in my house, and there was a young boy who looked very scared."

She said they had tried to call 999 on a landline, but the line was dead, so her son used his mobile.

The family at number 41, who are Harrow Council tenants, spent the night with relatives and have now been moved to temporary accommodation pending repairs to their home, which has been declared structurally sound.

Numbers 39 and 43 are owner-occupied and the residents are making arrangements through their insurers.