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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Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
You can now have a private sleepover amongst all the history inside Manchester Museum
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum is now offering one lucky family the chance to have a sleepover with Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex.
For the first time in Manchester Museum’s history, one lucky family will be given the chance to experience an incredible night at the museum.
This unique opportunity is being offered as part of a prize draw, allowing visitors to find out what happens once the sun goes down inside the Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery – in the company of Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, of course.
The Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery is one of the most iconic spaces within Manchester Museum.
Having opened to the public all the way back in 1888, it’s part of the museum’s original building designed by celebrated Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed Manchester Town Hall and London’s Natural History Museum.
Not only will the lucky winning family enjoy an overnight stay in the gallery, but they’ll also be treated to a guided torchlight tour of the galleries after the Museum has closed, as well as other fun activities and a film screening too before bed.
You can now have a private sleepover inside Manchester Museum / Credit: The Manc Group
“We can’t be completely sure what happens when the sun goes down in our Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery, because nobody has ever spent the night in there before, but we can only imagine the kind of fun that can be had with Stan the T. rex and his friends,” said Dean Whiteside, Head of Commercial and Operations at Manchester Museum.
“This is a chance to be a part of museum history and enjoy the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience you can’t usually buy.
“At the same time, Manchester Museum is a charity so, by getting behind this initiative, you’ll be helping to support vital work that impacts the lives of people across Greater Manchester and beyond.”
Fancy it then? You can enter the prize draw by buying a ticket for £5 from the Manchester Museum Shop, with each ticket counting as one entry and the winner set to be chosen at random from all valid entries.
The prize draw is now open and closes on Monday 28 September 2026.
Emily Sergeant -
5th August 2020 
