Flames ripped through a family bungalow when the home set alight after it was struck by lightning.
The roof of the property in the village of Corringham, Essex, was devastated in the early hours of this morning.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service were called to York Avenue at 3.44am to fight the blaze and save the building from being totally destroyed.
Crews from Corringham, Orsett, Basildon and Grays attended. They found smoke billowing from the roof, which was completely alight.
EssexLive report that it took nearly two hours to extinguished the fire.
Watch Manager Geoff Wheal said: "The couple were woken by a massive bang and then heard neighbours knocking on their door. Thanks to the neighbours, the couple along with their six dogs and cat got out safely.
"Crews worked incredibly hard to extinguish the fire. Although the roof and first-floor bedrooms were badly damaged, they managed to stop the fire from spreading to the ground floor and save the property."
The fire was fully snuffed out by 5.06am.
More thunder, lightning and heavy rain is set to lash large swathes of the UK later today.
A yellow Met Office weather warning for thunderstorms almost entirely covers England and Wales between noon and midnight on Sunday, and there is also one in place until 9pm in Northern Ireland.
It warns of heavy showers, with as much as 80mm falling within three to six hours in the worst affected regions.
There is also the potential for frequent lightning, strong winds and hail - which could cause flooding, travel issues and power cuts.
Grahame Madge, for the Met Office, said: "Some of the storms have the potential to be quite intense, with high rainfall rates.
"Some locations may well miss them all together but all we can do now is indicate that there is a risk across both countries."
He added: "We will keep the yellow warning closely monitored and if we need to escalate that for local areas then we will."
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Chris Almond said: “Over the weekend we’ll be transitioning to a more unsettled regime for the UK, though temperatures will remain high and it’ll feel very humid for many.
“Heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely to become more frequent and impactful through the weekend, with the potential for associated hail, lightning and some gusty winds. The risk of thundery downpours initially starts in the far west on Friday afternoon, but spreads more widely through the weekend, resulting in the warning the Met Office has issued.
“There’s an ongoing likelihood of further warnings being issued and revised in the coming days, so keep an eye on the forecast for the latest outlook.”
