A man who tried to burn a centipede to death using petrol ended up destroying the family home and putting himself in hospital.

His son told media in Brazil that he was the one who first spotted the creepy-crawly inside a room on 27th February and called his dad to get rid of it.

The dad tried to catch it, but it darted between two bricks in the property in the municipality of Senador Canedo in Goias State.

The frustrated man then grabbed a container holding a gallon of petrol, poured some of it into the crack where the centipede was hiding, and set it alight.

However, some fire flakes landed on the petrol-filled container, so the dad picked it up and frantically tried to take it outside.

But as he ran through the home, he bumped into the dinner table, and flames immediately ripped through the house.

The dad suffered first- and second-degree burns to his body and was taken to hospital in the nearby city of Goiania.

He was last reported to be stable, conscious, and breathing normally.

Images show how the blaze devastated the family home, leaving furniture and household appliances blackened and melted.

The man’s wife is reported to have lost the sewing machines she used for work in the fire.

Local media did not report if authorities are investigating.