29/01/2010 19:49
BERLIN (Reuters) - A 76-year-old German man trying to thaw out his car incinerated it instead when he decided to speed things up by putting a blow heater under the bonnet.
"He burnt the vehicle out completely," said a spokesman for police in the western city of Hildesheim. Police said the man left the heater on next to the frozen windscreen washer tank and returned indoors. Shortly afterwards he heard two explosions and returned to find the car ablaze.
He alerted fire services, who arrived in time to prevent the flames destroying his house. Including charring of the building, total damages were estimated at 40,000 euros (34,700 pounds).
(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Steve Addison)
