THE landlord of a York pub had to call time early, after the building was struck by lightning.

The Spread Eagle, in Walmgate, was struck by lightning at about 3.30pm on Saturday while several customers were relaxing with their drinks, leaving the entire building in darkness.

Linford Gardener, landlord of the pub, said: “It just felt weird in the pub, there was a flash and a bang, and everything just tripped off. We didn’t see it hit the building, obviously, but it all lit up outside and all the lights and power went off.

“We felt the building buzzing, and knew it had been lightning. We could just tell something was different and what had happened, then all the power went off.”

Nobody was injured in the lightning strike, but electrical appliances throughout the building were affected by a power surge caused by the lightning, meaning the pub had to close several hours early.