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heartbroken: Tina Dennis in her daughter's room

A SECOND family made homeless by the catastrophic lightning strike in Upton have told of their miraculous escape and heartbreaking loss.

Mum-of-two Tina Dennis was just inches away from the spot where her roof collapsed after a bolt hit her neighbour's home in Guest Road on Monday.

That property was totally gutted, but the blaze also wrecked Mrs Dennis's adjoining semi-detached home.

Her family has been told the damage is so severe they may not be able to go home for six months.

Mrs Dennis said: "There was a hell of a bang. It was like someone had exploded a bomb. The whole house lifted and came down again.

"I was on the landing and I hit the floor as the ceiling came down. It just missed me. I think if I'd moved an inch it would have hit me straight on my head."

She added: "Everything in the loft is blackened and covered in water - my wedding dress and wedding photos, all the pictures of the children, the rocking horse I bought for my daughter and was keeping for my grandchildren - that's all ruined."

Mrs Dennis' husband Steven, a carpenter for Sunseeker, daughters Jade, 19, and 21-year-old Amber, as well as Amber's fiancé Scott Dashwood, are now staying with family in a two-bed bungalow while they desperately look for a house to rent.

They have been told not to return home where ceilings are collapsing on the first floor and deep cracks have appeared all over the property. Wires and sockets have blow out of the walls and electrical equipment, including a computer bought for Amber's birthday on Sunday, has been ruined. There is also water damage throughout.

"My children are just so glad I survived," added Mrs Dennis, a caretaker at Upton Junior School. "They keep hugging me. The whole thing is unbelievable."

7:00pm Wednesday 12th March 2008

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