TWO young children had a miraculous escape when their pyjamas were scorched by a lightning bolt which struck their home as they slept.

The children, aged seven and nine, were pulled from their bedrooms by their father after the house was hit during major electrical storms early this morning.

Part of the roof fell in on the upper parts of the property but dad John Holland, who got caught under the falling ceiling, managed to free himself and drag his children Luke and Emily outside to safety.

Mum Melanie Holland, a grocery assistant who was working a night shift when the lightning struck, told how she raced home as the drama unfolded and found her children with scorch marks on their clothes.

Speaking to the Daily Echo this morning, Melanie said: "I arrived home and couldn't believe what I saw it was devastating. We were lucky a fire didn't break out."

Today Hampshire firefighters said that the family was lucky to have escaped unscathed.