Crystal ball blamed for Weston fire

A woman has told how her flat was wrecked in a fire that was started by a crystal ball on her windowsill.

Mum-of-one Kim Yeates, 53, had been visiting a friend when she returned home to find her first-floor flat a blackened ruin.

Firefighters later discovered the blaze was caused by a small glass orb on her windowsill.

The three-inch ornament, which cost £20, magnified the sun's rays which were directed on to the curtains and set them alight.

The fire spread to the sofa on which a television had been placed, ready to be thrown out.

Flames spread through Ms Yeates' flat, causing more than £10,000 of damage to her kitchen, living room and bathroom, and has left her homeless for eight weeks.

The former BBC production assistant, from Worle in Weston-super-Mare, has now lost everything because she had no insurance.

She said: "My life has been totally wrecked by this crystal ball. I've got no insurance and almost everything I owned was in the flat.

"The fireman said that this is the first time he has ever heard of a crystal ball causing a fire in his 25-year career. He was just as surprised as me.

"I used to love looking at the crystal ball and watching the sunlight come through it but I wish I had never bought it now.

"My mum has thrown it away because she was so angry about what happened. I'm completely devastated."

The blaze happened at 5.30pm on July 23 after Ms Yeates, who lives alone, left her housing association flat to visit a friend in nearby Weston-super-Mare.

Neighbour Neil Clarke, 28, was first on the scene after he heard a huge explosion and immediately turned off the gas in nearby flats.

He climbed through a window because he thought Kim was in the flat. Mr Clarke said: "Because I am a qualified maintenance engineer I knew to turn the gas taps off and as for the rest of it I just did what anyone would."

Firefighters arrived 15 minutes later and got the blaze under control before finding a crystal ball, barely touched by the flames, underneath the windowsill.

When Ms Yeates returned they told her that the ornament, which she bought from an art gallery shop three years ago, was the cause of the fire.

She said: "I just want to say a big thank you to Neil because he was very brave trying to rescue me.

"But I still can't sleep at night worrying about what would have happened if I was at home when the fire started."

Avon Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the crystal ball was the cause of the fire.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Mounsey said: "It's thought the fire started accidentally after sunlight refracting through a crystal ball on the windowsill caused the curtains to catch fire, spreading to a nearby sofa, where a television had been placed on the sofa ready to be thrown away."