A German man’s house burned to the ground yesterday after he tried to kill some weeds with a flamethrower.

The 54-year-old gardener was trying to burn off some weeds when he accidentally set his hedge on fire. The fire soon spread to his shed, and even though he was applying water from his garden hose the fire then moved to the roof of his house.

The fire department soon arrived at his home near Hamburg, Germany, but not in time to save the property. (AFP)