Sinking feeling

Mum's life saved by the rubber soles of trainers as lightning hits kitchen

- JOHN HAND

A WOMAN who survived a lightning strike while standing at her kitchen sink has revealed the rubber soles on her runners saved her life. 

Caroline Blake said she will be buying a Lotto ticket because of how lucky she feels to be alive following the incident at her Co Offaly home on Tuesday.

But she insisted the next time a thunderstorm hits, she is locking herself up in a room with no windows or sink.

The 53-year-old had finished working at Tesco in Birr and had returned to her house in nearby Crinkle.

As the county became engulfed in a heavy thunderstorm, electricity was coming on and off, so when it returned for a while she decided to make herself a cup of coffee just before 3pm.

After stirring the cup, she threw the spoon into the sink before she was jolted back by a “huge explosion” and “bang” in her kitchen.

It was only later after going to hospital, that doctors told her it was her footwear that saved her from even worse injuries.

Speaking from her home, Caroline told the Irish Mirror: “I’ll think of things differently now. I could have died.

“The doctors told me it’s only because I had my runners on, because of the rubber on the soles, it saved me and also that I kept my feet firmly on the ground.