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Saturday, August 16, 2008, 07:00
When Fred Fuell sat down at a table in The George, in George Street, Croydon, to enjoy his beer he opened a newspaper and brushed a small tea-light candle.
The 73-year-old's left coat sleeve went up in flames and he had to quickly extinguish it by banging his arm on the table.
Luckily, he wasn't hurt but his coat was ruined so he went to the bar to complain.
He filled in an incident report but was told he had to write a letter of complaint to the pub's owner, JD Wetherspoon.
The retired storeman did so, seeking compensation for his burnt green jacket and also to urge the company to review its policy on tea-lights and candles.
"You go in the pub for a pint, you don't expect to get set on fire," he said. "And they've got children in there running around.
"It's not bright in there but the candles don't really light the place up."
After he wrote to complain, Mr Fuell says Wetherspoon told him to send the burnt jacket by post so its customer services department could inspect it.
When the jacket was returned, he was advised he would not be receiving any compensation.
But as a "gesture of goodwill" they sent him a cheque for £2.80 to cover the cost of postage.
A Wetherspoon spokesman told the Advertiser: "We understand Mr Fuell's frustration but we thoroughly investigate all matters reported to us and, on this occasion, we feel it was an unfortunate incident of chance."
Annoyed Mr Fuell, of Salisbury Road, South Norwood, said: "They're taking millions of pounds from customers, what's the £30 cost of my jacket to them?"
In a letter to Mr Fuell, Wetherspoon said regular assessments were carried out in its pubs by health and safety inspectors. The company said it had no plans to change its policy on using tea-lights in the pub.
And there appear to be no hard feelings over the incident on July 18 as Mr Fuell has already been back to The George to enjoy a pint with friends.
spark: Fred Fuell's sleeve caught fire in The George pub Photo No: CCRPM130808F-0-2
by Paul Martyniuk
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