South Yorkshire Fire Service has taken to social media to share the unfortunate tale of a Northern lad who accidentally set his flat on fire whilst proposing to his partner.
The man from Sheffield, who has not been named by the fire service, was described by fire crew as having “really gone to town” by lighting over 100 tealight candles inside the property as a romantic gesture to set the scene for the proposal.
He was also said to have filled the flat with balloons and had bought “a nice bottle of wine” too.
Whilst it all initially sounds like the perfect proposal set-up, things quite quickly went awry when the man nipped “around the corner” to go and pick his girlfriend up and returned to the flat to find it ablaze as a result of the unattended tealights.
THREAD: Look closely. What do you see? That's right, hundreds of tea light candles! 🕯️
Want to know what happened here? We thought you did. It involves a romantic proposal that didn't quite go to plan, and includes an important lesson around candle use.
Sharing the full story in a thread on Twitter, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Look closely. What do you see? That’s right, hundreds of tea light candles. Want to know what happened here? We thought you did. It involves a romantic proposal that didn’t quite go to plan, and includes an important lesson around candle use.”
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“Last night, three crews were mobilised to a flat fire in Sheffield.
“They dealt with it quickly, as ever, before trying to establish what caused it, so a quick chat with the occupant revealed that this room had been filled with 100s of tea lights. It had also been filled with balloons and, as you’d expect, a nice bottle of wine…”
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“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.”
It had also been filled with balloons (yep, that's what you can see in this photo) 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! 😍👏
Whilst this rather bizarre story does fortunately have a happy ending after all and we couldn’t be more glad for the couple, if it wasn’t for the quick actions of the firefighters, then this could have seen a different and very tragic end.
This has prompted South Yorkshire Fire to close out the tweet thread by offering a few bits of advice around candle safety.
They said: “As romantic as they are, and as much as we all love ’em, candles can be so dangerous.”
“Please, please:
Extinguish them properly when you’ve done.
Don’t put them near flammable items eg: curtains.
Don’t leave 100s of tea lights unattended.”
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Family-run Greater Manchester business calls out customers for punching cakes
Thomas Melia
A well-known independent Greater Manchester business has taken to social media to call out customers who were caught on CCTV punching their cakes.
Known for everything from cakes and pastries to hot baked goods and custom chocolate designs, Slattery’s in Whitefield has been serving up their gorgeous cake and chocolate creations for over 50 years, all while keeping the business family-run.
Unfortunately, the reason they’re receiving lots of attention at the minute is due to two customers resorting to violence on their pre-packaged sweet-treat products.
The social media account for this Greater Manchester chocolatier has uploaded two images which show the outcome of the fatal blows which struck two of their Victoria Sponge cakes.
Although this punch may have cost them the price of two of their delicious traybakes, later on in the post, Slattery’s issues a big thanks to “All the wonderful families who’ve visited so far this summer.”
“We know cake can be exciting, but a gentle reminder that little bakers should remain under adult supervision at all times – Thank you.”
This third-generation family-run “chocolate wonderland” has brought a smile to many locals’ and tourists’ faces alike with their wide variety of unique-shaped chocolate bars, lollies, grab bags and more.
All throughout 2021, Slattery’s were serving up their moreish Slattery’s Chocolate Lockdown Platters consisting of shortbread, brownies, fudge, pretzels, marshmallows and Oreos, helping Mancs continue to get our sugary fix even during one of the country’s toughest times.
Just look at them – they do the lord’s work:
Slattery’s chocolate shop and bakery has called out customers on social media for punching their pre-packaged cakes / Credit: The Manc Group
As well as attracting visitors with its grand three-storey bakery and chocolate shop, Slattery’s also has its very own restaurant, Mason’s Dining Room, where people flock to attempt the ‘Chocolate Challenge’.
To win, two chocoholics must team up to finish an American-style chocolate fudge cake with chocolate ice cream, a portion of fresh cream and two chocolate pots filled with liquid chocolate sauce – oh and two delicious hot chocolate drinks too.
Any sweet tooth successor will bag themselves one of Slattery’s chocolate medals and a box of handmade chocolates too – in case you needed chocolate anymore.
Lastly, anyone after supporting this Greater Manchester sweet-treat provider can find the chocolatier and cake makers on 197 Bury New Road in Whitefield or via Slattery’s official website HERE.
Featured Images – The Manc Group/Slattery’s (via Instagram)
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Plans to build tower next to Manchester’s historic Britons Protection pub scrapped
Danny Jones
Punters, rejoice: plans to build a large apartment tower next to Manchester’s Britons Protection pub have reportedly been scrapped after a long, drawn-out process and widespread protests.
What a relief.
One of the city’s oldest boozers, the Britons Protection was due to be dwarfed by a large development reaching 26 storeys tall, which not only would have encroached on the cultural landmark and storied watering hole, but also blocked out its popular beer garden to the rear.
We’ve seen a similar loss of outdoor drinking space with the recent St Michael’s development, which has essentially removed the equally historic Sir Ralph Abercromby pub – though it is at least getting a refurb – but in truth, the ‘Protect the Protection’ fight has been going on much longer.
As per a notice published on Manchester City Council’s website this week, it now appears that the plans for 72 new flats have been cancelled, with developers Arrowsmith Management having officially withdrawn their application.
Run by Bahraini businessman Mohamed Abbas Haji, the company is now said to be reassessing its options for the ‘Apex Tower’ proposals.
Speaking to the BBC, Mark Brennan – who took over the pub back in January 2025 – said: “I’m quite happy to be honest, a lot of people say the pub might be busier with more people about, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to people coming in here.”
“It would have looked horrendous… It’s Grade II-listed, so the pub should always be here. It wouldn’t have been a good look, having a big ugly building on top of our building.”
Countless Mancunians have echoed the sentiment over the past few years, with appeals dating back to post-pandemic and a big awareness push in 2021.
Standing for more than two centuries and holding countless awards, it was never going to go quietly.
It also happens to be quite comfortably on our list of the cosiest pubs in Manchester and has been since day dot.
Anyone who’s been in will know the sense of a warm welcome the place always puts out, and we’re overjoyed to hear that years of petitions and campaigning to save it have paid off.
These stories don’t always end with the right outcome (not often enough, anyway), so we’ll definitely be raising a glass to the Britons Protected this weekend.
Unfortunately, we do still have some other sad news from the hospitality sector, as our oldest Manc publican has passed away at a fellow favourite pub.
Emily Sergeant -
5th August 2020 
