Friday the 13th proved suitably unlucky for one 13 year-old boy who was struck by lightning before being taken to hospital -- at 13:13 on the dreaded date.

The boy, who has not been named, was treated for a minor burn after being hit along with two others at an air show in Suffolk, eastern England, a spokeswoman said.

Staff at the St Johns Ambulance service said there had been heavy rain all day before they witnessed a big flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder over the sea off the Suffolk coast.

"We got a call that someone had been struck by lightning so we immediately sent our paramedics to the scene, followed by an ambulance," said Rex Clarke, head of the team of St John Ambulance volunteers at the event.

"Lightning strikes can cause cardiac arrest, but when our volunteers arrived the boy was conscious and breathing."

Clarke added that two other people were treated for injuries from lightning burns in the space of twenty minutes, and that all three people were holding umbrellas at the time which "acts as a conductor for electricity."

Jason Gillingham, a County Ambulance Officer and on scene at the show, said: "This was a minor burn to the boy's shoulder, but he was taken to hospital and is recovering well."

(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.)

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(Agencies)