A 15-year-old girl has told how she was struck by a lightning bolt inside her family home.

Shocked Giana Scaramuzzo – from North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania state, USA – says the strike began with a tingle in her little finger.

Then the electrical charge surged through her body and came out through her leg.

Gina told local media: “All of a sudden I hear the loud sound of thunder, and then I see lightning, and I see it reflect from my mirror, and all of a sudden I feel like a shock in my pinky, and then it goes up my body and out through my leg.”

Paramedics checked her blood pressure and sent the results of an electrocardiogram to a nearby hospital but say she seems to have survived unscathed.

Gina said: “I’m a little scared, still in shock… it’s kind of like I’m shaky and uneasy too.”

Circleville Volunteer Fire Department said on 16th May: “Station 8 was activated to the 12000 block of Sedona Drive for a house struck by lightning.

“Crews from 8, 1, 6, and 14 searched the house for fire with negative results. 5 additional houses were affected by the strike. One injury was reported and was cleared by NHTEMS. Salvage 63 also assisted in covering a large hole in the roof.”

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 10 per cent of people struck by lightning die, usually from a heart attack.