Crystal ball blamed for 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."

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."