A LIGHTNING strike sparked a roof to catch fire at a house in a village on the outskirts of Chester.

Firefighters were called to the property in Bell o' th' Hill, Malpas, at 8.45pm yesterday evening.

Crews spent the night tackling the flames and remain at the scene this morning to check for hotspots and remove the roof tiles.

Nobody was injured as a result of the incident.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "At 8.45pm firefighters were called to reports of a fire at a semi-detached house in Malpas which was believed to have been caused by lightning.

"Crews from Powey Lane, Chester, and Audlem, along with an aerial platform from Chester, attended the scene and on arrival they found that the roof of the property was well alight.

"Firefighters, wearing breathing apparatus, used a 13.5 metre ladder to access the roof. They then used two hose reel jets and three main jets to tackle the fire.

"There were no reports of any injuries.

In a further statement this morning, the service said: "Firefighters remain in attendance at the scene.

"The fire itself has been extinguished, but crews are using a thermal imaging camera to check for any hotspots. They are also using a hose reel jet to dampen down.

"Firefighters are using a nine metre ladder to access the roof of the building and remove the roof tiles from the property."