Strangest Animal Incidents

Bird With Cigarette Caused a £250,000 Fire

A cigarette loving sparrow is being blamed for a fire that caused £250,000 of damage to a shop in Lincolnshire. Paul Sheriff, 48, who runs Crescent Stores in Leasingham, was initially at a loss as to what had caused the blaze. Six weeks later, insurance investigators told him that they discovered 35 cigarette ends in the roof.

Their conclusion was a sparrow must have picked up a smoldering butt to feather its nest in the roof's eaves, causing the blaze. Mr Sheriff, a non-smoker, said: "The shop was a total mess. All the suspended ceilings came down, all the electrics were down, all the fridges were broken, it was horrendous. A spokesman for his insurance company said: "We believe it's the first case of its kind we've ever had to deal with. I've certainly never come across this sort of thing before. It's strange to think how such a little bird armed with such a small object could cause such chaos."