AN East Lancashire farmer today warned of the dangers of sheltering under trees during thunderstorms after three of his cows were killed by lightning.

Eddie Threlfall, of Holt Farm, Rishton, said he felt compelled to speak out after the pedigree heiffers were struck by lightning during Sunday's summer storm.

Mr Threlfall discovered the dead Friesians on Monday still lying under the tree, which was badly burnt from the strike.

Today he said people must remember that it is dangerous to shelter under trees or in woodland during a storm as he didn't want anybody to suffer the same fate as his cows.

He said: "They were there still under the tree and had literally fallen where they had stood.

"What worries me is the tree is right next to a footpath and I know that the first place people shelter from the rain, like the cows did, is under a tree.

"That strike could easily have claimed a person's life.

"A tall tree in a thunderstorm is bad news."

The tree is in a field close to the Dunkenhalgh Hotel and is surrounded by hedgerows.

As it is the tallest thing around Mr Threlfall thinks the cows sought out shelter there and that it was also the tree's height which caused the lightning to hit that point.

He said that there are 40 young stock in that same field and he was just thankful, with the cows costing between £900 and £1,500 each, that no more were killed.

He said: "The cows have been taken away and now I will have to make a claim on my insurance to get them replaced. They were only between 12 and 18 months-old.

"I have been down to the field today and there were loads of them sheltering from the heat under the same tree, which was a bit worrying.

"The tree has a strike mark down it which is over a metre long where the trunk has been burned "I just hope we don't have any more storms and we don't lose anymore cattle.

"They say lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice and I just hope they are right."

Cloud-to-ground lightning can kill or injure people by direct or indirect means.

The lightning current can branch off to a person from a tree, fence, pole, or other tall object.

In addition, flashes may conduct their current through the ground to a person after the flash strikes a nearby tree, antenna, or other tall object.

The current also may travel through power or telephone lines, or plumbing pipes to a person who is in contact with an electric appliance, telephone, or plumbing fixture.