A terrified family fled their lightning-struck house as thunderstorms battered Kent early today.

The living room of the semi-detached house in Audley Avenue, Gillingham, was set alight by the lightning strike at about 4.30am.

As their home filled with smoke, parents Stephen and Vicky Foden fled with children Tabetha, seven, and five-year-old Jamie.

Their dramatic escape came as train services in Kent were severely disrupted this morning amid flooding after torrential downpours and lightning strikes.

Stephen said: "It was about 4.30am when I heard a massive thunder strike. It sounded different to normal, it was very loud.

"I got up to see if my wife and children were ok, that's when I heard the smoke alarm going. I went downstairs and saw the smoke and then the fire in the corner of the room.

"I went back upstairs and told my wife, she said to get everybody out of the house.

"So she grabbed Tabetha and I grabbed Jamie and we came downstairs. By this time the bottom of the house was full of smoke and the fire was getting worse.

"We got out of the front door and went to our neighbours who called the fire brigade who came and sorted everything out. It's a bit of a shock."

Ben Fletcher, crew manager at Medway fire station, said: "We pulled into the road and the house was well alight on the ground floor. We could see flames coming out of the front of the house.

"The noise of the thunder and lightning had woken the father who went to check on his children and as he went the smoke alarm sounded, which was when he realised the house was on fire."

When the first of 15 firefighters arrived about five minutes later, the house was well alight.

Crews used breathing apparatus to enter the three-bedroom house and extinguish the blaze.

Mr Fletcher said: "The lounge was destroyed by fire and the diner was heavily smoke-damaged to the extend that it will need replacing. The upstairs of the property suffered smoke damage."

Lightning strikes were relatively rare, he said, adding: "Short of installing a lightning rod on your house there's not much you can do to prevent them.

"The force of the electrical impact can cause an electrical socket to explode off the wall and that will set alight to anything else in the house, like carpets or furniture.

"This house was near Darland Banks which is the highest point in the town.

"It is a shock to the family but at the end of the day they've all got out safe and that's what's most important."

Meanwhile, the roof of a house in Edward Street, Southborough was also damaged by lightning.

A hole appeared to have been blown through the tiles in a strike that damaged phone lines throughout the area.

Neighbour Dom Russell said: "What to me sounded like an explosion amidst last night's lightening storm was in fact the result of a direct hit to the roof of my opposite neighbour's home in Edward Street.

"Clearly some of the force of the strike carried along the phone lines that attach the properties as the phone/internet adapter in my home exploded with quite an impressive bang at the same time. The telephone has also ceased functioning."

And a bolt of lightning strike the home of a young family in Octavian Drive, Lympne.

Two engines from Folkestone and Hythe attended the scene at around 2am.

Watch manager Mick Burgess said that roof tiles on the property were missing following the strike, but there were no signs of fire and the young family inside were unharmed.

Elsewhere, commuter trains began to return to normal at about 9am after the line was flooded at Gillingham station.

Early trains were cancelled and frustrated commuters reported delays of more than half-an-hour.

Operator Southeastern's website reported delays of about 15 minutes or last-minute disruptions were expected until about 10am.

The weather also left trains between Strood and Tonbridge, via Maidstone West, being cancelled or delayed at short notice.

Commuters have also been suffering problems heading to Sheerness and Paddock Wood this morning.

And firefighters have been dealing with flooding at a property in Sandgate, near Folkestone, overnight.

A crew had to pump flood water from a home in The Riviera at around 3.50am.

An electrical box also burst into flames at around 6.15am. Crews dealt with the fire and made the scene safe, while UK Power Networks arrived.

Medway fire station in Watling Street, Gillingham, was also flooded after drains overflowed.

Firefighters had to salvage equipment from their lockers and use brooms and mops to clear the water.