A HOPEFUL romantic ended up setting fire to his house in what should have been the perfect proposal.

Albert Ndreu, 26, spent two weeks meticulously planning his perfect proposal after buying a ring for girlfriend of one year Valerija Madevic.

He had decided to surprise his sweetheart by filling their living room with around 100 tealights to spell out 'Marry Me' on the floor.

Albert then went out to pick up his love to bring her home for the surprise - but after he left it caught fire.

Three fire crews rushed to the scene at roughly 8.30pm after Valerija saw clouds of dark smoke emanating from their flat’s door in Sheffield, Yorkshire.

But Albert was undeterred and got down on one knee in the charred room and asked the love of his life if she would marry him

With sirens wailing in the distance and their flat engulfed in flames, the love struck girlfriend said the all-important ‘yes'

Mr Ndreu said:

“It didn’t go exactly as I thought it would but she said yes, so I think the day took an unexpected turn but ended up exactly how I wanted it to.”

Of all the things that Albert worried could go wrong, he never expected to find his home left in ashes.

“I put balloons and candles everywhere, I had to go all out," he said.

“I wanted to say something like she was the light of my heart, but maybe that was too much light.

“I was so nervous, this was the first time I have ever proposed and I hope it will be the last.

“I was so worried about everything going wrong I never imagined I could set the house on fire.

“But it will always be an unforgettable day for us and a story which will be amazing to tell our children.”

The pair met on a dating site and say they believe strongly in destiny and they happened to log into the app for the first time on the same day.

He says she was his first match and after a short chat they exchanged phone numbers, organised a date, and he confidently deleted the app.

He said: “I believe that people have a destiny and there is someone you’re meant to be with - and for me that’s Valerija.

“We got on like a house on fire, but maybe we took that a bit too literally.

“I hope this serves as a warning for others that maybe there is such a thing as too much love, or too many candles.”

Valerija says her fiancée greeted her at her work with some flowers which led to her being suspicious that he’d done something stupid and was grovelling.

“When I got the flowers I thought he must have broken something or destroyed something in the house," she said.

“Little did I know he had destroyed our entire living room.

“We walked up the stairs to the flat and there was smoke everywhere, I told him to call the firefighters because our house was on fire.

“I was in total shock, I was shaking because it looked like it was really bad.”

But Valerija was about to get an even bigger shock after she walked down the stairs to find Albert down on one knee.

“He pulled out a box from his pocket and I was just speechless," she said.

“He said that he messed up - our house was literally in flames - but asked me if I would marry him.

“And I said yes.”

Thankfully only a laptop, a speaker, and some books were lost in the fire.

“You can replace things in the house, but not our love for each other," said miss Madevic.

“In the end we’re in good health and we’re together, and that’s all that matters.

“But Albert is banned from candles and balloons for a while, even with his birthday coming up.”

Albert insists that he’s normally “very responsible” but was overcome by his love for his fiancée.

The pair are hoping to tie the knot on the anniversary of the fire and said they’d invite the fire brigade as a special guest - both to thank them and as a preventive measure.