Kerri Walsh said the bolt struck at 6.30pm while her husband was preparing dinner.

``Five of us were in the doorway and there was one clap and I thought I should turn the TV off and before I knew it, it was like a bomb hit,'' she said.

``All I saw was a flash of lightning and the tree everywhere.

``My husband thought it was something to do with his cooking and that something had blown up.''

Mrs Walsh said the lightning strike was a reminder for her of the force of nature.

She said she was just glad that no one was hurt.

``It could have killed somebody,'' she said. ``We were just lucky that everyone was inside.

``I could have been getting the clothes off the line, because it was raining.''

The tree, which has been there since the Walsh family moved in 30 years ago, is now split in two, the clothesline is wrecked, and their outdoor table has drilled holes into the concrete where the lightning struck.

But Mrs Walsh said this wasn't the first time the tree had been hit.

``My daughter and her boyfriend lived in the flat and they've seen lightning strike that tree before,'' she said.

``And they say lightning doesn't strike twice!''

But Mrs Walsh said the tree would not be too sorely missed.

``We only said the day before `We must get rid of that tree; it's dead','' she said.