A DAD has told how he accidentally burnt his house down after making a huge garden mistake.
Paul O’Brien, 47, caused £100,000 worth of damage when he put a £2 disposable grill in his wheelie bin.
He had been cooking on the cheap BBQ for friends at their home in Lytham, Lancs, back in June 2021.
Ten hours later he put the grill, which “felt cold” into the bin and headed to bed.
That night he woke up to his girlfriend screaming – and the pair managed to grab their two kids as the house was engulfed in flames.
Paul told The Mirror said: "You think you know how to put out a barbeque, you think you've done the right thing. The barbecue had been out for ten hours and you put it in the bin.
"There was obviously just one little rogue ember in there that wasn't out. It caused a hundred thousand pounds worth of damage just from this £2 barbeque.
"We lost probably 95% of our possessions – photos and memories and just all the kids' toys and clothes, all of that just went.
"[But] we got out – that was the main thing."
His family was forced to live in temporary accommodation for two years as they dealt with their insurance company.
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He has now joined Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service as a way to "give back" to the community.
Paul is warning Brits not to make the same mistake he made.
He explained: “I thought I knew how long the coals could smoulder for. I was wrong.
“There was just one little rogue ember in there even though it had been out for ten hours and a £2 barbecue caused over £100,000 of damage to my home.
“If you do use one, submerge it in water to be certain it is no longer burning."
Paul says his family haven’t touched a barbeque since the traumatic incident.
He said: "We've not even had a gas barbecue… It's just not on the agenda.
"You don't realise how dangerous they are. I'd say to anyone, 'Just douse it in water, and then douse it again and then submerge it in water.'"
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