Marriage proposal goes up in smoke in Yorkshire as man burns down flat with romantic candles

The man left hundreds of tea lights burning in a balloon-filled room in his flat as he collected his girlfriend ahead of the special moment, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

But when the couple returned, they found the flat, on Abbeydale Road, Sheffield, was on fire and three fire engines were on their way.

A fire service spokesman said no-one was injured in the blaze – and the man’s girlfriend accepted his unconventional marriage proposal.

Sharing photographs of the gutted room on social media, the fire service said: “So a quick chat with the occupant revealed that this room had been filled with hundreds of tea lights.

“It had also been filled with balloons and, as you’d expect, a nice bottle of wine.

“This was going to be the scene of a romantic proposal and the occupant, a chap who we shall not name, had really gone to town.

“With the scene set, he went round the corner to pick his girlfriend up, ready for the big moment.

“As they returned, though, their flat was on fire. The culprit? Yep, you guessed it, the tea lights.

“Fortunately our firefighters dealt with the fire quickly and nobody was injured.

“As a bonus, she said yes!”

Three fire engines attended the blaze in the first floor flat at 8.30pm on Monday.

The fire service added: “As romantic as they are and as much as we all love them, candles can be so dangerous.

“Please, please extinguish them properly when you’ve done, don’t put them near flammable items, like curtains, and don’t leave hundreds of tea lights unattended.”