A man has recalled the moment he lost his toe nails after being hit by lightning.
Appearing on today's episode of This Morning, Eric spoke to hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes about not only the first time he was struck by lightning, but also the second time.
The senior said he was first hit by lightning 11 years ago while on and air base with air cadets during a competition.
"I stood there, rain started to come down so I put my collar up, looking forward at the cadets," he said. "And then 'flash' - lightning struck just in front of me and just missed my face."
Click the video above to listen to him explain the moment in full
Eric said it sounded more like a 'big whoosh' rather than a 'big bang'.
After surviving the very close call, it was later the same day that Eric had another close encounter, but this time was directly hit.
He said it happened when he was taking the air cadets back to safety into a big navi-tent, and was offering them hot food and drinks.
While he was putting some hot sausages to put into bread rolls for cadets, Eric said lightning then suddenly hit the pair of tongs he was using at the time to pick up the sausages.
"I lifted the tongs up to get another [sausage] out and then 'woosh', it struck the tongs I was holding." He recalled.
When asked by Eamonn 'what on earth did that feel like', Eric replied: "To describe it is very very difficult, the pain and screaming was unbelievable.
"It hit me and it went through my arms and the pain went down directly to my feet and my legs were really, really hot.
"The bones in my legs were steaming. The wife bent down to take my shoes off to find out what was damaged."
As first aiders came over to check over Eric, he said it was then that he found out he had lost his toe nails, "my feet were steaming and my toe nails had come off," he said.
Eric's son was there at the time it happened, along with several other air cadets who he says were all 'unbelievable' as they performed CPR before the paramedics came.
"We call young people all kinds of names, but on that day they were just pure genius.
"Quick as a flash - like lightning." He quipped before adding: "They tended to me straight away until they could get a first responder and paramedics down there."
Since the incident, Eric has suffered a number of health problems and is "still having treatment after all this time".
He said: "It damaged me totally internally, I have scar tissues on my lung, gentleman problem and a prostrate problem - lots and lots of different problems."
