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• The sparrow that turned a village shop into £250,000 inferno after taking a smouldering cigarette to nest  

Insurance investigators concluded that a sparrow must have picked up a smouldering cigarette butt and deposited it among the dry twigs of its nest under the eaves.

The resulting conflagration caused £250,000 of damage at Crescent Stores in Leasingham, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire.

Initial investigations found no gas or electrical faults, but 35 cigarette ends were eventually found in various sparrows’ nests in the roof.

Mr Sheriff, 48, a non-smoker, said: ‘It’s a pity really because I like seeing birds around the place but to think one of these pesky sparrows took a cigarette end onto the roof and caused all this damage is amazing.

‘At the end of the day, what is done is done. It’s a busy shop and people jump out of their cars, drop their cigarette ends on the floor and come in to buy a packet of fags.

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