AN EAST Lancashire man left scarred for life when an aerosol can exploded in his face is warning school children not to play with fire.

Daniel Swayne, 25, from Kipling Place, Great Harwood, was left with a hole in his cheek the size of a 50 pence piece when he was eight-years-old.

His horrific facial injury was sparked when another child threw an aerosol on to a bonfire and left him needing 100 stitches and corrective surgery.

Mr Swayne is backing Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, which is warning the region's school children that those playing with fire are also playing with their lives.

He said: "Take it from someone who knows -- fires can be very dangerous and where possible stay away.

"Just a few minutes' play could affect the rest of your life.

"I feel I'm lucky to be alive -- but others may not be so fortunate."

Reliving his ordeal, Mr Swayne added: "I remember seeing the boy throw something at the bonfire but at the time I didn't realise it was an aerosol.

"A few minutes later I felt a sharp stinging pain and momentarily blacked out.

"My senses weren't working and I walked back to my parents' house around a half a mile away.

"It wasn't until my mother fetched a mirror and showed me my face that I realised what had happened.

"The blast caused the bottom of the aerosol to hit me and severed the right side of my face.

"I had reconstructive plastic surgery the same day but was left with a scar about the size of a 50 pence piece.

"Fortunately, over time my scar has gradually healed.

"But I remember when I went back to school, children would stare and started calling me names such as Scarface.

"It did affect me psychologically and I felt I couldn't go up to talk to girls."

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service stress that aerosols can be just as dangerous in the home.

A spokesman said: "Though the main causes of accidental fires in the home are down to cooking and smoking, there are a number of less common causes that can be just as deadly.

"Some aerosols contain flammable substances and we have attended incidents where someone using a spray can has got too near to a flame and a life-threatening situation has resulted when the vapours have ignited in a fireball.

"The safety message we want to promote is clear -- don't use an aerosol anywhere near a naked flame."

Fire logs show that last year Lancashire fire-fighters attended seven incidents sparked by aerosols but a spokesman said in reality the figure was likely to be higher due to the way the incidents are recorded.