A BOY could have lost his sight when an aerosol canister exploded on a bonfire, a fire chief said today.

Daniel Osguthorpe suffered facial burns and swelling, along with singed hair, when he took the brunt of the blast.

He was taken to the specialist burns unit at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield yesterday for treatment, following the incident which brought his birthday party to a shocking end.

Fire chiefs today issued a stark warning about the dangers of placing anything hazardous on flames.

John Swires, of North Yorkshire Fire Service, who was in charge at the incident in the Stockton Lane area of York, at 11pm on Saturday.

He said: "It could have put his eyes out and done a lot more damage."

He also urged organisers to closely supervise events to ensure nothing dangerous was thrown on to a fire, and that spectators were kept at a safe distance.

Daniel, who turns 13 today, had been to the Walnut Tree pub in Heworth for a meal with friends to celebrate his birthday. The group planned to sleep over at his mum Diane's house, in Ashleigh Park Crescent, Stockton Lane.

The Huntington School pupil said: "We were having a fire at the bottom of the garden. Someone threw a canister on. We all moved back. At first it didn't go bang. It was under the fire. We forgot about it and went back to the fire.

"I didn't expect anything to happen. About ten minutes later it exploded. I was sitting on a bench near it and the next thing I knew it exploded and came at me. I was just shocked."

His message to others was: "Don't mess around with fire. I won't any more."

Diane, who shares his birthday, recalled: "We just heard a bang. It was like a quick flash, but big enough to have the effect.

"Daniel got the brunt of it. It singed a lot of his hair. He has no eyebrows left and there are patches on his forehead and nose. His face is mainly swollen and red. He was very frightened when it happened. He has said he won't be playing with fire again."

Some of his friends also had their hair singed.

Diane said: "They were all crying.

"It had been a really good night until then. This was mischievous fun that went wrong. I made sure all the children were OK. I didn't realise Daniel's face was so burned because it didn't show up straight away."

The Evening Press reported earlier this month how schoolgirl Jasmine Southon, 12, of Dijon Avenue, Acomb, York, suffered facial burns when youths threw an aerosol on to a bonfire in the grounds of St Stephen's Church, in Acomb and it exploded in her face on Good Friday. Doctors warned that scarring to her cheeks, nose and forehead would take two years to fade.

Updated: 10:27 Monday, April 18, 2005