Sheffield man spelled out 'Marry Me' in candles for his girlfriend - before burning down their flat

Albert Ndreu, aged 26, spent two weeks planning his perfect proposal after buying a ring for Valerija Madevic.

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He had decided to surprise his sweetheart by filling their living room with around 100 tealight candles and dozens of balloons.

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He used some of the lights to spell out 'Marry Me?' on the floor of their home on Abbeydale Road.

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But when Albert went out to pick up Valerija to bring her home for the surprise, their flat caught fire.

Undeterred by the disaster, Albert still got down on one knee and asked Valerija if she would marry him, and with sirens wailing in the distance, she said the all-important 'yes'.

Albert said: “I wanted to do something from my heart even if it didn’t go exactly as planned.

“Valerija always says the most important thing is the small gestures every day - but I wanted to do something special for the proposal.

“I bought the most important thing, which was the ring, and I just needed to make sure the day was perfect.

“It didn’t go exactly as I thought it would but she said yes, so I think the day took an unexpected turn but ended up exactly how I wanted it to.”

Albert spent over four hours preparing his romantic setting - two of which were spent blowing up the balloons and lighting the candles.

“I was so worried about everything going wrong I never imagined I could set the house on fire,” he said.

“But it will always be an unforgettable day for us and a story which will be amazing to tell our children.”

Albert and Valerija have been together for just over a year after meeting on a dating website.

“We got on like a house on fire, but maybe we took that a bit too literally,” he said.

Valerija said: “You can replace things in the house, but not our love for each other.

“In the end we’re in good health and we’re together, and that’s all that matters.”