Was this the most incredible photo from the night when lightning lit up Altrincham?

It looks like a hazy midday scene – but this amazing photograph was actually taken at 10.15pm last night.

Simon Thomas caught the exact moment an enormous lightning bolt lit up his garden on Willowtree Road in Hale, briefly transforming the dark, stormy scene into a blissful summer’s day, complete with blue sky and shadows.

Simon told us: “It was 10.15 and it was properly dark outside, more so than it would normally have been for July as there were some very dark clouds about.

“There had been a few flashes already but I just clicked away and managed to catch it. There was one really big flash more or less straight after the thunder, which normally means it is right above you.

“It scared me a bit and I went and hid behind the sofa!”

Below: Simon Thomas’s picture in full

Simon said he used a Canon EOS 70D to capture the scene, but as it had been on a manual setting the picture may have been overexposed slightly, helping to create the daytime effect.

His was one of many dramatic pictures to emerge from the most stunning lightning storm to hit Altrincham for years.

The light show began shortly after 10pm and lasted for around 45 minutes.

Another stunning image was taken outside the Gardeners Arms in Timperley by Daniel Jenkinson – see below:

Below: Footage of the storm taken from Park Road in Timperley. For the full video, see our Facebook page

A fantastic picture of the storm over Altrincham from Craig Benson: