Dogsey

The major of Redruth, Cornwall has told how his faithful dog led him back to his house after he was struck by lightning.

Ian Thomas was thrown into the air when he was hit and lay stunned on the ground for up to 20 minutes. When he came to, he instinctively wrapped his arms around Monty, a schnauzer, who helped him struggle back home to his wife. Mrs Thomas, thinking he'd had a heart attack, rushed him to hospital, where he stayed for four days. The sixty-four-year-old mayor said he often hangs on to Monty when walking up hills so when he grabbed him, saying, “help me, help me”, Monty knew what to do

Mr Thomas recalls hearing something like an explosion in his head and described how he heard five-year-old Monty “scream” and believes Monty may have been hit too. The Mayor was carrying a metal water bowl and medics believe that the lightning bolt struck his head and exited through his hip. He was wearing Wellington boots, and it was this insulation which probably saved his life.