[Ammi]

A seven-year-old boy was last night fighting for his life in hospital after being turned into a human fireball.

Preston Flores ran into the street ‘on fire’ near his home in Aberdeen after his clothes became doused in petrol and ignited.

The youngster, who is thought to have suffered 80 per cent burns, may have been deliberately set on fire – or been the victim of a prank gone wrong.



Last night, he remained in a ‘serious’ condition in hospital, with his mother Luisza at his bedside.

When asked if police were conducting a criminal inquiry, Detective Inspector Lorna Ferguson said: ‘It’s too early to say at the moment.’

However, Police Scotland later confirmed that officers at the scene in Bedford Avenue were following ‘a positive line of inquiry’.

Eyewitnesses told how they watched in horror as the boy, screaming in agony, suddenly appeared with flames licking all around one side of his body.

One described the shocking scene as Preston was on fire from the neck downwards, his clothes sticking to him as he lay terrified on the ground.

Another said someone handed the youngster a bucket of water, which he immediately poured over himself in a desperate attempt to put out the fire.

Victoria Pirie, 17, last night told how she heard screams as the boy ran into the back garden of his block of flats, yelling and crying. She said: ‘It was just horrid. He was on fire from the neck downwards, his clothes were sticking to him. They weren’t really big but they were enough to do a lot of damage to him.’

Earlier, the schoolboy had been outside enjoying the fine weather, playing with two friends, a boy and a girl, in the street near his home.

The tragedy happened shortly before 2pm yesterday afternoon.

Local resident Paulina Pilska said she had been watching the children from her window as they jumped on top of a council pick-up van.

The 25-year-old cleaner said: ‘They were searching for something. I saw one of them with a container, like a watering can.’


Minutes later, Preston was running around outside the block of flats with flames shooting from his clothes.

Miss Pilska said the other children were trying to put him on the ground but he was shouting, although not very loudly at that stage.

She added: ‘I was shocked.’

Emergency services were called to the scene and although firefighters arrived within three minutes, Preston is understood to have suffered serious injuries, with 80 per cent burns to his body.

Shortly afterwards, his mother, who had just returned to their flat from the shops, learned of the accident after neighbours began banging on her door. Residents said the mother-of-five collapsed on the ground when she saw her son.

Paramedics gave her oxygen and she was taken away in the ambulance with young Preston.

Police cordoned off two streets as they carried out detailed investigations to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

As stunned neighbours huddled together, some in tears, they watched police officers scour a grassy lane between two blocks of flats.

Resident Shona Henderson, 16, said: ‘I saw clothes lying all over the ground and his shoes and the fire still there

By the time we got there, his clothes were sticking to his skin, it looked like they had melted into his skin. It was horrible.

‘There were lots of people around him. Someone handed him a bucket of water and he poured it all over himself. He was screaming.’

Preston was taken by an ambulance under police escort to the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, where medical staff carried out emergency surgery.

Last night, it was believed he had been flown to a specialist burns unit at an Edinburgh hospital for further care.

Police last night confirmed that their investigations were continuing

DI Ferguson said: ‘We are appealing for witnesses in relation to the incident and inquiries are at an early stage at the minute until we establish exactly what happened. We’re speaking to witnesses to establish the circumstances.’

Local councillor Nathan Morrison expressed his sympathy to the family.

He said: ‘My heart goes out to this young boy who was in this terrible incident. I will be rooting for him to make a full recovery, as I’m sure everyone else will.

‘There needs to be a police investigation into this matter.’

Councillor Jean Morrison said the whole of Aberdeen would be shocked, adding: ‘I would imagine the police will investigate to see if there is anything behind it.

‘I would hope that this young boy is OK and that he can recover. It’s truly awful. My thoughts are with the parents.’


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ng-flames.html

[Kate!]

Dear God what is this world coming to? ( sound just like my mum when I say this type of thing )

Truly awful. I hope they get to the bottom of things quickly. Poor young lad, and my heart goes out to his mum, terrifying for her.

[GypsyGoth]

Sounds horrible but I don't understand why parents think it's ok to leave a 7 year old unsupervised. And another adult seems to think that seeing boys trying to steal something from another person's van or truck is acceptable behavior or just chose not to get involved. Now a poor kid's life is ruined

[Ninastar]

Originally Posted by GypsyGoth

Sounds horrible but I don't understand why parents think it's ok to leave a 7 year old unsupervised. And another adult seems to think that seeing boys trying to steal something from another person's van or truck is acceptable behavior or just chose not to get involved. Now a poor kid's life is ruined

totally agree... this is so sad

[Kizzy]

‘There were lots of people around him. Someone handed him a bucket of water and he poured it all over himself. He was screaming.’

Sounds like a very caring community... :/
Poor lad, I hope he recovers well.

[Toy Soldier]

I think the most likely scenario is that they were lighting fires for "fun" and at some point he's spilled some on his clothes which have then caught a spark. People don't realise just how flammable petrol is - its not just a flammable liquid, just the fumes can ignite if you get too close to source, it doesn't even have to touch the liquid.

It's a tragic story. However - I disagree that a 7 year old should necessarily need to have adult supervision at all times playing outdoors near to their own home. It's stifling, restrictive, and causes more problems in the long run - and incidents (accidents or deliberate harm) are incredibly rare. Children need a little bit of freedom, it's being constantly taken away and as a result we're ending up with several generations of completely incompetent "adults".

Those kids obviously didn't understand the danger they were in. That's where the real problem lies.

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

‘There were lots of people around him. Someone handed him a bucket of water and he poured it all over himself. He was screaming.’

Sounds like a very caring community... :/
Poor lad, I hope he recovers well.

Well exactly. Incompetent, irresponsible people who had absolutely no idea what to do. No one took charge. Everyone stood around waiting for someone else "more responsible" to do something... But there was no one. This is part of what I'm saying above - today's adults are utterly useless. They're all still waiting for some other non-existent "responsible adult" to step in, and that's because we (as a society) have been systematically removing freedoms and responsibilities from children for the last 3-or-so decades.

He should have been dropped and rolled. Someone should have known that. The other kids should have known that. He should have known that himself. 50 years ago, they all would have. Today? "Umm derp what do we do? How do you put out a fire? Water I guess? Quick, someone Google it!"

By that time it was far too late.

[Z]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

‘There were lots of people around him. Someone handed him a bucket of water and he poured it all over himself. He was screaming.’

Sounds like a very caring community... :/
Poor lad, I hope he recovers well.

It's not the nicest part of town, it's not rough per se but it's this sort of forgotten part of the city with retail parks dotted about the place and not much else. This is really shocking, I hope this wasn't done on purpose... poor boy.

[AnnieK]

Aw, just read that the young boy has died from his injuries....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...one-wrong.html

[arista]

That is sad

[arista]

[Kizzy]

Aw no .. poor little lad.

[Kazanne]

Poor kid,horrible way to die,such a shame.

[Vanessa]

I think 7 year olds should still be supervised. Too young to be left by himself.

[Ammi]

....this is awful poor little guy and should never have happened but it didn't sound good with the extreme of his injuries...

[Me. I Am Salman]

felt sick after reading this can't fathom the amount of pain he must've endured

[Nedusa]

I think this was an accident though.

[Z]

Poor boy I wonder what happened and if we'll find out?

[Benjamin]

Oh no he died.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Nedusa

I think this was an accident though.

Yes he was just playing around,
sadly it appears that part of town
is a bit neglected

[Z]

Originally Posted by arista

Yes he was just playing around,
sadly it appears that part of town
is a bit neglected

Yeah it is, it's quite central and near a really big roundabout, there's just not very much there - it's not the worst part of town but I can see how kids around there would get really bored and do stupid things out of boredom and how a tragic accident like this could happen... if of course it was an accident...

[Niamh.]

poor kid

[lily.]

This is awful. I would hope the person with the bucket of water poured it on him and didn't hand him it, as was stated in the article..

You'd think someone would know to roll him on the ground though..

Makes me wonder if he might have been saved if the bystanders acted more quickly.

[Kizzy]

Almost certainly