Witnesses have shared pictures of a huge gas explosion caused when lightning struck a food waste recycling plant at Cassington.

Residents reported seeing 'a fireball' light up the sky after a biogas tank ignited at the Severn Trent Green Power Plant north of Oxford at around 7.20pm yesterday evening.

An Oxford resident said: "This is a very clear photo of what we thought was orange lightning but actually the explosion."

Liam James said: "We didn’t know there was an explosion but I took a photo of my friend at the moment when the sky lit up."

Jake Williams shared a picture from a local park "when it first happened".

Residents reported power cuts for miles including in Witney, Burford, Chipping Norton and Milton under Wychwood.

Severn Trent say they have been working with the emergency services to secure the site and will comment further in due course.