One man's misjudged attempt at getting rid of a spider saw a petrol station set on fire.

CCTV footage captured the bizarre scene in Center Line, Michigan. The motorist used a lighter to try and exterminate a spider spotted crawling around his petrol tank. Inevitably, the petrol in the tank caught fire, quickly spreading to a nearby petrol pump.

The man responded by rushing to get a fire extinguisher, while a level-headed employee hit the automatic stop button and called the local fire brigade. 

Fox News Detroit reports that the man responsible told authorities that he was 'deathly afraid' of spiders.

The petrol pump is said to have been destroyed as a result of the blaze, but the car in question remarkably suffered little damage during the incident.

Petrol station attendant Susan Adams said the man returned to say sorry the next day.

"He was sorry, he said he didn't know," she told WJBK TV. "It is just one of those things that happen - stupidity."

You can check out footage of the incident below: