Boy, 12, in critical condition after being struck by lightning during football match at Hertfordshire school

3 October 2023, 08:31 | Updated: 3 October 2023, 10:50

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A 12-year-old boy is fighting for life after being hit by lightning during a school football match as an electrical storm swept parts of southern England.

The child and a man in his 50s were both struck at the Sele School in Hertford.

They had been taking part in a tournament when the lightning struck, with both victims rushed to hospitals.

A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service said: ““We were called at 5.16pm with reports that two people, a 12-year-old boy and a man in his fifties, had been struck by lightning in Welwyn Road Hertford.

“We sent East Anglian Air Ambulance, two ambulance officer vehicles, an ambulance, a BASICS vehicle and a rapid response car.

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“The child was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in a critical condition and the man was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital for further care. Both were conveyed by land ambulance.”

Following the incident, the school's headteacher Chris Quach posted Facebook: “There was a district football tournament organised by an external body at The Sele School. Sadly, a young boy from another school and an adult was struck by lightning during this event.

“They have been taken to the hospital.

Fire breaks out at Oxfordshire processing facility after lightning strike

“Myself, the entire staff at Sele and wider community would like to thank emergency services, the community and our first aiders who were quick to respond whilst waiting for emergency services.”

The Met Office said of the storm: "A Yellow warning for thunderstorms was in force for parts of eastern England and much of Oxfordshire from 1700 on Monday to 0200 on Tuesday morning.

"The warning highlighted the potential for heavy bursts of rain for some, as well as frequent lightning and gusty winds. Observations show lightning strikes in Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas during the warning period."

In a separate incident yesterday afternoon a lightning strike caused a huge gas explosion at a food waste recycling plant in Oxfordshire.

A huge fireball lit up the night sky after the blast at the Severn Trent Green Power Plant at Cassington, north of Oxford.

The lightning strike caused one of its biogas tanks to explode at around 7.20pm.

Six fire engines, 40 firefighters, police and at least four ambulances were deployed to the plant, which processes food waste turning into biogas.

There were no reports of any casualties.

Thames Valley Police closed the A40 between Wolvercote and Eynsham, and urged residents to stay home and shut windows and doors.

Videos circulated on social media on Monday showed a large fireball and the sky in the area pulsing an orange colour.

Jack Frowde, 34, from Oxford, who works at Oxford University, said: “I was sitting in my kitchen when the whole room lit up with a brilliant white light, then followed by a huge crack which sounded like really heavy thunder.

“I looked out of the kitchen window and it was as if the sky was pulsating orange.

“I ran to the back to capture the orange glow as it faded after about 20 seconds.”