Boys burned in bonfire horror

East Sussex Fire and Rescue issued a safety appeal to the public via the Observer after the boys, aged 16 and 18, suffered serious burns to the face and hands after trying to re-light a garden bonfire with an accelerant, believed to have been white spirit.

By the time firefighters arrived at an address in Cooden Drive at the request of Sussex Ambulance Service only burned clothing and what was left of the bonfire remained.

Paramedics had already treated the boys and taken them to hospital.

The boys have not been named under data protection rules.

Leading Firefighter Graham Hobden said: "It seems that the lads had been out in the garden trying to burn garden rubbish and trying to use some sort of accelerant to get the bonfire going - which they thought had almost gone out.

"As they poured the white spirit on to the bonfire it flashed back into the bottle, igniting it."

He added: "The message we want to get across to the public is please don't use accelerants on bonfires, barbecues or anything similar to try to get the fire going because there can be tragic consequences.

"If you pour petrol on beforehand the problem is that there is a build-up of fumes which can then cause an explosion.

"If this case they thought the fire had gone out and they were attempting to re-light it."