This is the shocking moment a grandfather unwittingly started a grassfire when he lit a match and almost burned himself.

The 70-year-old man was sitting on his wheelchair while fiddling with a match stick on the garden of his home in Phitsanulok province, Thailand, on October 27.

However, a burning stick slipped off his hand and ignited dried grass which immediately engulfed the area.

CCTV footage shows the old man struggling to escape the inferno that spread seconds after the stick hit the grass.

His daughter Pookie said: ‘My dad wanted some alone time outside the house while sunbathing but let this be a lesson for everyone. Don't let our loved ones out of our sight if they're already old.'

The old man was rescued by his nine-year-old granddaughter who saw what was happening from the kitchen.

She pulled the old man's wheelchair back inside the house and called the adults for help.

Pookie added: ‘If no one had seen him, he could have been hurt. We were relieved nothing serious happened.'

The old man was uninjured and the grassfire was quickly doused with water.