'Excess aerosol use' caused blast

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"Excessive use" of aerosols caused the Llanelli fire

A fire and explosion at a house which left four teenagers with serious burns was caused by the "excessive use" of a large number of aerosol cans.

A joint investigation by fire service and police found an accidental ignition of the gases at the house in Llanelli.

Four girls, aged between 14 and 15 at the time of the incident last December, spent weeks in hospital.

A community safety programme warning of the dangers of aerosol misuse is to be set up.

No-one will be charged following an explosion after the Crown Prosecution Service said there was "insufficient evidence".

Anya and Kira Evans, Kimberly Patterson and Nadine Fardon had 10 major skin grafts between them at Morriston Hospital, Swansea after the blaze at the Evans's home in Llanelli.

Dyfed-Powys Police and Mid and West Wales Fire Service said the explosion was caused by the accidental ignition of the gases produced by excessive use of aerosols.

The joint statement said: "The use of the aerosols led to the accumulation of flammable gas and vapours in a bedroom without sufficient ventilation. The ignition source was a cigarette lighter."

A large number of pressurised aerosol containers were found at the source of the explosion, in the back bedroom of the house.

Speculation that gas hair straighteners or curling tongs could have been the cause was dismissed at the time by investigators.

We all need to make our children aware of the dangers of misusing aerosols Mark James, Carmarthenshire Community Safety Partnership

The emergency services said they wanted to warn young people about the dangers of aerosols to stop similar incidents happening again.

Telling young people about the dangers of misusing aerosols will now form part of community safety education programmes.

Mark James, chairman of the Carmarthenshire community safety partnership (CSP) said: "The CSP is committed to raising awareness of the dangers of volatile substances such as the inappropriate use of aerosols."

"Parents need to be vigilant about excessive use and we all need to make our children aware of the dangers of misusing aerosols."

"Talks are already given to young people and as part of the partnership's joint commissioning strategy for substance misuse, an action plan for children and young people will be developed to include additional ways of tackling this important concern."

All the girls, who were then aged between 14 and 15, were taken to Morriston Hospital in Swansea where they were treated for burns ranging from 41% to 29%.

Anya also had to be taken for further treatment at the paediatric intensive care unit in Cardiff.