Sheffield man proposing to girlfriend accidentally sets flat on fire

Three fire engines flooded Abbeydale Road at around 8.30pm on Monday night to tackle the blaze at a first floor flat above the AM News shop. A South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue spokesperson confirmed the fire started accidentally “due to candles left burning.” There were no reports of any injuries and the crews left at 10:05pm after extinguishing the flames “fairly quickly”.

The owner of AM News, who gave his name as Mully, said the man who lives upstairs had planned to surprise his girlfriend by proposing and left the candles burning while he went to pick her up from work.

He told The Star: “There were like 20 candles. When he came back there was a blaze.

"Then he proposed outside during the fire. He didn’t get on his knees and she gave him a kiss. He had to make her happy after all that somehow.”

The newly engaged couple stayed at a friends house after the fire, Mully said.

He added: “I was worried because I got messages from the locals saying ‘Your shop’s on fire’.

"We’ve got no damage, just a bit of damp on the ceiling. Just the living room upstairs was damaged. It’s all ash, the walls are fully smoked out.

"This is a normal day on Abbeydale Road. Just last week there was an arrest after a police chase.”