Killing spiders spins out of control as women burns down home

A GERMAN woman destroyed her family home by setting fire to it as she tried to kill spiders with a can of hairspray and a cigarette lighter.

Police in the western town of Zuelpich said that when the aerosol failed to finish them off, the 34-year-old woman tried to burn them with the lighter.

However, this set alight an area of the garage that she had just sprayed and the blaze spread to a hedge.

"It was a series of unfortunate events which led to the damage," a police spokesman said yesterday.

"She tried to put the fire out with a hose, but couldn't. Instead, her house caught fire. It's now uninhabitable."

Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze and save the neighbouring semi-detached house, which suffered broken windows and some charring.

The cost of the damage is estimated at more than 70,000. No-one was hurt.

The police spokesman said: "The family have had to look for somewhere else to stay. The spiders are gone, though."