Magician James Fortune is in need of one of his own spells to conjure up details of parties he is booked to entertain after a bolt of lightning hit his house and wiped out the electrics.

James, of Plough Lane, Purley, stored records of all his party bookings on an electrical diary.

But the details were wiped after the house was struck by lightning during a freak storm on Thursday, August 5.

The house did not suffer any structural damage but when the lightning hit the house there was an enormous bang, the fuses blew and the power went.

James said: "My brother-in-law and my son were in the house at the time and they said it was the loudest bang. My son Charles dived to the ground.

"Everything in the house that was electrical blew up. The phone system went and the computer.

"The worst thing is that we have a back-up disk that we save all the records on but it was in the hard drive at the time so we have lost everything."

The children's entertainer and professional magician, who is a member of the Magic Circle, had hoped the data on the disk could be recovered but computer experts have said it is irretrievable.

He has trawled through the cheques he has received to try and trace people who have made party bookings and is appealing for anyone who is expecting him in the next few weeks to call.

James, who has now resorted to keeping a printed record of all bookings, added: "I have three appointments I know of on Saturday but I have only found one of the bookings and I have two on Sunday.

"By sheer chance three people have phoned to ask another question so I have told them the story and confirmed their details.

"I don't know what parties I am booked to entertain at and there will be many children and adults who are waiting for me to turn up but I won't be able to because all their details are gone."

Call James on 020 8763 1995 or email james@magicfun.co.uk.