Boy on fire clip prompts outrage

Teenagers who filmed setting their friend on fire and posting it on an internet site have been criticised by a fire officer.

The 30-second YouTube clip shows what appears to be lighter fluid being squirted onto the boy's lap and a fire spreading onto his legs and chest.

It is not clear if the boy - thought to be from Wrexham - suffered any burns.

Community safety officer Richard Fairhead said the incident was 'incredibly irresponsible'.

He viewed the clip and said: "It looks as if it could be a bit like a copy-cat video clip - it is extremely dangerous."

Mr Fairhead, who works for North Wales Fire Service, said a member of the public had alerted them.

"Accidental fires kill and injure hundreds of people a year. Burn injuries are extremely painful and can take a long time to heal. And it also causes serious scarring.

"We have contacted the hospital to see if anybody has been brought in, but there has been no-one."

Tragedy

He said: "The individual appears to be in a shed or something that looked like a shed, if the fire had spread to anything else then everyone in that shed could have been in potential danger," he said.

Mr Fairhead said if the boy did not suffer burns, he was extremely lucky.

"It is very worrying when you see youngsters doing something like that, it's incredibly irresponsible.

"You cannot control fire - that could have turned into a tragedy without a doubt," he said.

Mr Fairhead said he and his team visit every primary school in their area and speak to year seven and eight youngsters.

"It's an ongoing process, this will be passed on to our educational unit," he said.

YouTube has been contacted for a response.

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