Crystal Ball Sets British Woman's House On Fire

A British woman's home has been destroyed by a freak fire that was sparked by the sun shining on a crystal ball on her window sill.

The �20 ornament refracted the rays straight into the back of Kim Yeates's TV which then overheated and exploded, igniting a nearby sofa.

The 53-year-old Kim who lived alone, was out visiting a friend and returned to find tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage caused to her first-floor flat.

She has been forced into temporary accommodation in the meantime � but has lost most of her possessions for good because she had no insurance.

"My life has been totally wrecked by this crystal ball," Kim tells 'The Sun'. "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."

"I'm completely devastated."

After firefighters got the blaze under control, they found the crystal ball, barely touched by the flames, lying under the window sill.

They later told Kim that the ornament, which she bought from an art gallery shop three years ago, was the cause of the fire.

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

"The homeowner had a crystal ball on the window sill and direct sunlight refracted through it into her living room," says a spokeswoman for the Fire and Rescue Service. "It then set light to the television near the sofa and caused the fire we attended."

"We do have incidences of this nature but it's very uncommon for this to happen."

You could say, despite the crystal ball, Kim didn't see it coming.

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