A 12-year-old boy is in a critical condition after he and a man in his 50s were struck by lightning during a school football tournament.

The incident took place during the district tournament at The Sele School in Hertfordshire on Monday afternoon.

The boy was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge in a critical condition, according to the East of England Ambulance Service.

The man was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow for further care.

The East of England Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 5.16pm with reports that two people, a 12-year-old boy and a man in his 50s, had been struck by lightning in Welwyn Road, Hertford.

“We sent East Anglian Air Ambulance, two ambulance officer vehicles, an ambulance, a BASICS vehicle and a rapid response car.

“The child was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in a critical condition and the man was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital for further care. Both were conveyed by land ambulance.

“We would like to thank our emergency services colleagues and members of the public at the scene who provided first aid and CPR while our crews were on their way.”

The school’s head teacher said the child involved in the incident was from another local school.

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In a post on Facebook on Monday, he wrote: “Unfortunately, during the tournament there was a lightning strike which affected several people, two of whom, one adult and one student from another local secondary school, were taken to hospital for treatment.

“The entire staff of The Sele School, the wider school community and I would like to thank the emergency services, the parents and staff who were attending the match and were so helpful and our first aiders who did an amazing job while waiting for the emergency services to respond.

“Our good wishes and thoughts are with the people who were injured.”

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