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NEWCASTLE TAXI DRIVER WHO SPARKED LIGHTER AFTER USING HAND SANITISER LEFT WITH HORRIFIC BURNS


A taxi driver who sparked a lighter moments after using hand sanitiser has been left with horrific burns. Brian Hutchinson, 42, had just sanitised his hands when he noticed a lighter had been left by a passenger on the back seat, so he decided to test it. The Sun reports that Brian, from New- castle, said the flame ignited the solution on his hands, which quickly spread to his legs and head. He suf- fered major burns that resulted in multiple operations and skin grafts over the last seven weeks, which he said was like “going to hell and back”. Hand sanitiser contains high levels of alcohol, making it extremely flam- mable. The dad-of-two said he went into shock before the paramedics arrived, and he couldn’t stop shaking. He was immediately given morphine


but said: “When that wore off I knew about it - the pain was horrendous.” Brian faces a long road to recovery and has to wear pressure garments on his skin, possibly for years to come. Now, finally back at home from hospi- tal, Brian has relived the day the horrific accident happened. He said: “I had just been cleaning the vehicle while waiting


for a job. I noticed the lighter on the back, I had just sanitised my hands so rubbed the palm on my leg to dry it, but the tops of my hands were still wet. I picked the lighter up and sparked it to see if it worked. “The back of my hand then caught light, then as I went to open the door to throw out the lighter, my other hand caught a light, then there was like a fire ball inside the car that hit my face and went over my head. “It lasted literally seconds but as you’ve seen from the pictures it has left me worse for wear. I’ve had skin grafts on both hands, on my head, and ears.” Brian said the hand sanitizer was made up from a mixture of different solutions which he’d bought over the past few months and then added to one big bot- tle to use in his car.


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DECEMBER 2020


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