Doctors have hailed a man's penis a miracle after his genitals saved his life after he was struck by lightning.

Zoran Jurkovic, 41, from the small eastern Croatian village of Petrovci was listening to his headphones when a thunderstorm formed overhead and after being struck on the head by a bolt, it earthed itself through his penis.

The medics said that it was a miracle that the lightning charge had bypassed Zoran’s chest and missed his heart.

Testing time: Zoran Jurkovic, 41, from the small eastern Croatian village of Petrovci was listening to his headphones when he was struck on the head by a bolt. It earthed itself through his penis

At the time he was wearing his work overalls, which included a high visibility jacket and thick old rubber boots.

Because of the boots, the electricity was not able to earth through his feet, but after striking him on the head doctors claimed that instead of passing through his body - and most likely destroying his internal organs and stopping his heart - the electricity had followed the cables of the headphones.

They said it had then left his body by earthing through his genitals with the help of a small radio clipped to his belt.

The lucky escapee said: "I saw black clouds and flashes of light appear in the sky and thunder could be heard booming across the nearby fields. I tried to ride faster to get to shelter in time, but I was too late."

Passers-by driving in a van witnessed the incident and one of them said: "We were shocked when we saw the man. He was sitting in the rain and steam was coming out of his body.

"The bicycle was next to him. We took him in our van and drove him to the hospital. Doctors were also amazed that he was alive."

The medics said that it was a miracle that the lightning charge had bypassed Zoran’s chest and missed his heart