Thomas

It was November 6 last year. I had held a firework display of my own in the garden to celebrate Bonfire Night with family and friends. After the display and after we had cleared up a few of us sat in front of the fire in the garden. I spotted what looked like a tennis ball, without the fur, on the ground. I picked it up and passed it around to some of the guests to see if they could figure out what it was.

As it was passed back to me, I turned around to put it in the bin when it suddenly blew up in my face. It happened so quick. All I could see was white light and then my ears started ringing. When I regained my vision I remember being sat on the floor. I knew what had happened and my first thought was "how am I?" I jumped up and ran inside to check how I was. I had suffered superficial burns to my face, hands and arms. I had a burn on my chest and there were holes in my t-shirt where the debris had burned through. I also had a cut on the side of my eyeball. I was extremely lucky not to have lost an eye.

"All I could see was white light and then my ears started ringing"

The object must have been the explosive end of a rocket. We had small children at the display. If a child had picked that up they could have suffered life-changing injuries. That's the downside to home firework displays.

The recovery process of it was worst because every day I would wake up smelling the burning flesh. One day I woke up and my eyes had stuck together. It's not just the initial accident. It's the after effects as well and that's what people don't think about.

I would say to anyone having their own firework display take extreme caution. If you see debris that you think might be a firework or something that could be dangerous avoid it or douse it with water from a hose. Don't take the risk. I was very, very lucky but someone else might not be. It would be safer to go to a professional demonstration.

I will only now go to a professional display. You think to yourself "this will not happen to me, it's safe" then something happens that is completely out of your hands.

---