Take two maxims - that thing about a better mousetrap and the old "Love thy neighbour" - toss in some cliché, in this case sex by candlelight, and how could one not have a good time? Leave it to a guy named Leo to fuck things up.

Leo had brought his cat over to his neighbour's Manhattan apartment. The 32-year-old woman had been having problems with mice and Leo thought kitty would do the trick.

While the feline prowled, Leo and the woman decided to get busy, lighting a candle by the bed to set the mood. The mood, however, turned unromantic when the candle set the woman's comforter on fire.

Leo then ran away, leaving his paramour to be engulfed in flame. He called 911 from another neighbour's apartment.

"This is so embarrassing," complained Leo. "We'd never done that before and now she's in the hospital and my cat's dead."

The woman was treated for severe burns to her face and chest.

» Scott Saxon