The pictures that show why you shouldn't throw an aerosol can into a campfire

A schoolboy has been left with severe burns after an aerosol can exploded in his face during a camping trip with friends.

The pressurised can, which had been tossed into a campfire, exploded as 14-year-old Aiden Kelly leaned close to the flames.

The explosion turned Aiden into a human fireball, setting his hair alight and causing serious burns to his face and arms.

Aiden, of Havant, near Portsmouth, Hants, immediately rolled on the ground to put out the flames while one of his friends called his own father from a mobile phone.

The man rushed to the copse and took the injured boy back to his nearby home to hose him down with cold water.

Once he realised the extent of the teenager's injuries, he called an ambulance.

Aiden's worried mum Geraldine Kelly, a school lab technician, arrived just as her son was being helped into the ambulance.

The 39-year-old divorcee and mother of two said: "When I turned up it looked like all his flesh was falling off. It was absolutely horrendous, he didn't have any skin left on his nose.

"I've taught my kids about fire, and we've been out camping, but he was out with a bunch of lads and they don't take the same precautions.

"Aiden was in terrible pain and they had to give him plenty of morphine at hospital so he could cope. Thankfully he's been lucky and has not needed a skin graft." 

Aiden's aunt Jonelle Faulkner, 34, said: "When I saw Aiden I couldn't believe how bad it was. It was as if it wasn't him. He couldn't even move his mouth.

"He's very strong and he's fighting through it, but he's a 14-year-old lad, and we're heartbroken."  Aiden spent eight days at the specialist burns unit in Salisbury District Hospital, Wilts, where he is now being treated as an outpatient for a mixture of first and second degree burns.

Firefighters today warned youngsters of the potentially 'horrendous' consequences of playing with fire as they enjoy the spring and summer weather.

Daniel Miles, Hampshire Fire Community Safety Watch Manager, said: "The consequences of playing with fire can bring a lifetime of suffering and regret.

"Luckily this young man still has his eyesight, but he could potentially have lost that, or even his life.

"At this time of year, people will have barbeques and campfires. People should think, are the children unsupervised, can the barbecue be knocked over, can it set my fence alight?" 

Dr Eunan Tiernan, consultant burns and plastic surgeon at Salisbury District Hospital said: "We do notice a particular surge at this time of year. Scarring can be for life, and because the weather is warm, people aren't wearing much clothing and the exposed part of the body like the arms and face tend to be affected."