Sensational storm images captured the moment that lightning struck an iconic Ayrshire landmark.
The electrifying pictures were taken from Girvan beach overlooking the Ailsa Craig as the famous rock was hit by bolts from the sky.
The dazzling footage was taken by photographer Craig Bradshaw, 57, who bravely took his equipment to the shore.
Craig raced to the beach as the dark clouds gathered and thunder began to roar above the South Ayrshire coast.
The professional snapper was assisted by Ukrainian girl Olesia Bredikhina, 13, who is living with Craig along with her mum Inessa Bredikhina, 39, and brother Pavlo Bredikhin, 15.
The family fled their war-torn country with Craig taking them in after volunteering to offer house to Ukrainian refugees.
Craig told Ayrshire Live: “I’m currently hosting a Ukrainian family and we were all in the living room when we saw a big flash of light.
“Olesia said, ‘I love lightning’ so we got up and raced to the beach and set the tripod up.
“We were able to capture around five images, one has a direct hit of the shore of Ailsa Craig.
“I was absolutely thrilled by what we managed to get.”
Olesia, from the city of Mykolaiv, has told how the incredible weather event has eased her anxieties over loud noises and bright flashes.
She said: “Three months ago I was sheltering in a bunker from Russian missiles.
“I managed to come to Scotland via Moldova and my family is living with Craig. When we saw the lightning last night, I thought Craig was crazy when he wanted to go to the beach. But I decided to be brave and go with him.
“It was an amazing experience. I have never seen a storm at sea, it really helped my anxiety with loud noise and bright flashes, I’m so glad I went down.”
Craig says he had to pre-warn the family over the latest stormy downpour after admitting previous thunder last month led to panic.
He said: “People don’t realise that they will associate loud bangs and flashes in the sky with war, it is still traumatic for them.
“This time I prepared them for what was coming. But Olesia was incredibly brave and I’m glad she stepped out of her comfort zone.
“We had the beach to ourselves. We’ve got images that no one else has got. It is a wee fragment of time on your camera, it's just awesome.”
Craig, who runs photography business Epic Skies, has since shared his pictures on Facebook with the striking images racking up 3,800 likes and more than 400 shares.
Now he hopes the images will put this corner of South Ayrshire on the map.
Craig added: “We have such beautiful scenery down here looking out to Ailsa Craig and this is just another example of it.
“We hope these kind of events continue to put Girvan and Carrick on the map.”
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