Scout teased for fire failure starts blaze that lands him in hospital

A SCOUT who was teased because he couldn’t start a fire decided to try again at home – and sparked a £10,000 blaze which left him in hospital.

Edward Hawkins, 14, tried to prove himself to his friends and stacked up wood in the garden and doused it with petrol as his mother took his brother to school.

Armed with a camera phone to capture the moment, he put a match to the pile but watched in horror as flames immediately spread to his dad Eddie's shed.

It contained two explosive gas canisters and as Edward frantically tried to empty it a petrol can exploded and soaked him as he stamped down the flames.

The fire spread up from his feet, engulfing his clothes and body before blistering his hands and face.

He put out the flames by rolling on the ground as horrified neighbours raced to throw wet blankets over him.

Edward suffered superficial burns to his face and is now waiting to hear if he will need a skin graft to a bad burn to his thumb.

The fire brigade was called to put out the blaze which left £10,000 damage as it wrecked the shed where site manager Eddie, 48, kept his expensive tools and garden equipment.

TERRIFYING: Edward and his mum Carol, who sprinted to save her son [MASONS]

Edward, from Wainscott, Kent, said: "I just remember thinking, I need to put out the fire and I need to get the tools and gas out of the shed.

"Apparently I was shouting, but I couldn't feel anything, I was just panicking and didn't realise how badly I was burnt."

His mum Carol, 49, a party planner, said: "I just abandoned my car and sprinted up the road, screaming for Edward.

"The first I saw him he was on a stretcher ready to be wheeled all the way down the road to the ambulance because it couldn't get to the house.

"I was so frightened, I felt like I was going to collapse. All I could hear was Edward saying 'mummy, help me, please help me'."

She added: "This all came about because those Scouts teased him when he couldn't get his fire going.

"He just wanted to show them he could light one, bless him. Unfortunately I think he went a bit too far.

"The firefighters said to us the two gas canisters still in the shed were seconds off exploding from the heat and if they had, Edward might not be here today.

"To be honest Edward wasn't thinking about himself, he was more worried about how angry his dad would be that the outhouse he built from scratch, and all his tools, had been destroyed.

"But at the end of the day they're replaceable, my son isn't and I'm just so happy and relieved that he is alive."

Neighbour Len Cracknell, 74, heard Edward shouting "Help me, help, I'm on fire" and called the fire brigade.

Others on the street ran to his aid and soaked his burns until paramedics could take over, but Edward kept saying he needed to get back and put the fire out.

Fire, police and ambulance crews arrived in minutes but badly-parked cars had left a gap too small for the bigger vehicles to get through.

Unable to get to the hydrant directly outside Edward's home, firefighters had to stretch out over 100 metres of hose reels to reach the blaze.

Edward was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital, before being transferred to the specialist burns unit at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead.

Medics say the burns on his face are likely to heal but the teen is waiting to hear if he will need a skin graft on a bad burn to his thumb. Following the incident residents have renewed their call for more traffic control measures on the road.