Huge fireball seen for miles as lightning causes 'explosion' after hitting biogas tank in Oxfordshire

A huge fireball was seen for miles as lightning caused an 'explosion' after hitting a biogas tank on Monday evening (October 2).

Videos and pictures have shown how the sky was lit up moments after a thunderstorm passed overhead in Oxfordshire before the mystery bang was reported on social media by members of the public.

Severn Trent Green Power, a waste management company, confirmed the fire had occurred at its Cassington AD facility, near Yarnton, in a statement posted on Facebook on Monday evening. It confirmed biogas within the tank went up in flames.

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A spokesperson for the company said: "Severn Trent Green Power can confirm that at around 19:20 this evening, a digester tank at its Cassington AD facility near Yarnton, Oxfordshire, was struck by lightning resulting in the biogas within that tank igniting. We are working with the emergency services to secure the site and will provide further comments in due course."

The company said it was working with emergency services to secure the site. A company representative told the PA news agency that no-one was injured in the incident.

Videos began circulating on social media on Monday (October 2) showing a large fireball and the sky in the area pulsing an orange colour.

The person who captured footage, shared to X, can be overheard saying: "That's massive." He later posted: "I don't know but it was massive. There were lots of fire brigade /police cars minutes later going through A40."

Jack Frowde, 34, from Oxford, who works at Oxford University, said: “I was sitting in my kitchen when the whole