Pensioner blows his house up while trying to kill a fly with electrified bug swatter

A French pensioner blew up his kitchen while trying to kill a fly that was disturbing his dinner.

The incident took place in the Dordogne village of Parcoul-Chenaud, north east of Bordeaux, on Friday.

Irritated by the fly, the 80-year-old, who has not been named, took out an electronic bug zapper.

A French pensioner blew up his kitchen and the roof above it while trying to kill a fly with an electronic zapper (stock image)

The contraption – which looks like a tennis racquet – is designed to burn insects the moment there is contact.

‘On this occasion, gas was leaking into the man’s house,’ said an investigating source. ‘The very hot zapper ignited the gas, causing a sudden explosion.

‘The man was lucky to get away with a burned hand after diving on the floor, but the kitchen was destroyed along with part of the roof.’

The fly had been disturbing the man while he was eating dinner but the gas had been left on, causing an explosion when he used the electronic swatter

The man was treated in hospital in Libourne following the disaster, which happened at around 7.45pm.

He has not been allowed to return to the house, and is instead staying in a local campsite until repairs are carried out.

It is not known whether the fly survived the blast, but it appeared that it had at least escaped being incinerated by the zapper.

In 2007, a two-year-old Thai boy ended up in hospital in Bangkok with severe burns caused by an electric zapper.

The child’s father had been using the device to kill a mosquito in a workroom containing flammable adhesive glue that had ended up on the floor.

After the insect made contact with the metallic mesh screen, an electrical arc was generated, and the insect was incinerated.

The boy then placed the hot swatter on to the floor, which ignited the glue and then the boy’s clothing.