A WAITER and a chef received a severe electric shock and a new business suffered £15,000 worth of damage when a restaurant was struck by lightning.

The strike happened at Hollathans, in Ashfield Terrace, in Chester-le-Street, as heavy thunderstorms lashed the region last Wednesday.

The restaurant, which has only been open two weeks, had about 25 diners sampling its Mediterranean menu when the heavens opened at about 6pm.

It was not long before the sky was lit up with lightning strikes.

Waiter Byron Dale was taking beer kegs outside and chef David Taylor was working in the kitchen when the restaurant was struck by lightning and plunged into darkness.

Manager Caryl Robertson said: "There was an almighty bang and the whole restaurant started to shake. It was like being in an earthquake and everybody started screaming because no one knew what had happened."

Caryl believes the restaurant's stainless steel extraction system may have been struck by lightning, which caused a power surge and cut the electricity off.

Byron, 16, from Chester-le-Street, came though the door visibly shaken, before collapsing in front of stunned colleagues.

Caryl said: "Byron was really shaking - it looked like he was having a fit when he came back in. His legs went and he collapsed in front of us.

"When he came round, he said he was hot and tingly, so we got a paramedic check him over.

"He did not want to go to hospital, but they checked his heart rate and the soles of his feet. He was shocked, but otherwise all right and came in the next day."

The strike destroyed two plasma televisions, computers, the music system, tills and other electrical equipment.