A lightning strike at a recycling plant in Oxford caused a huge gas explosion and local power outages, writes The Guardian.

Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud bang and seeing a “fireball” lighting up the sky.

Emergency services are attending the scene, but a representative from Severn Trent Green Power told the PA news agency that no one was injured in the incident.

Video and images shared on social media show a pyramid of flames on the horizon, inside a yellow and orange mushroom-like shape.

Severn Trent Green Power confirmed that biogas from a container had ignited at its Cassington AD Facility, near Oxford airport, at about 7.20pm and it was working with emergency services to secure the site.

The facility processes more than 50,000 tons of solid and liquid waste each year.