A birthday party turned into a horrific day as two women ended up with dreadful burns in a pub heater explosion after a drunk person poured on ethanol "for a laugh."
One of the women was April Charlesworth, who was celebrating her 28th birthday on April 23. She and her cousin Ashleigh Charlesworth, a children's nurse, were taken to a hospital and put on ventilators after the explosion in a pub garden, reported The Sun.
April, of Sudbury, Suffolk, said, "A certain person, who was part of the group I was with, thought it was funny to keep filling the heater up with ethanol. He was in a bit of a drunken state, and we kept telling him not to do it.
"There was another member of our group who was stopping him from doing it, but then they went off to the toilet for just a minute, and everything happened so quickly."
"All I remember was my face just being on fire," she recalled.
Now April has released photographs of her injuries that show her blistered face heavily bandaged. The mother-of-one said that it's going to be a "long journey" to recovery. "It's my chest and my face which are the worst. My whole head is still bandaged up. Both my hands are still bandaged too, apart from a couple of fingers," she said.
She has had skin donor skin put on her face and chest. "But it's just a waiting game to see if I'll need anything more done, like a skin graft," she added.
April is yet to contact the person who put ethanol into the heater.
"I haven't spoken to the guy since who kept pouring ethanol into the heater. I haven't even had a text or anything to apologize. He was able to walk out of hospital after just 36 hours, whereas here I still am 12 days later," she said.
April doesn't remember much from her time at the Kings Head pub in Great Cornard, Suffolk.
She said, "To begin with I didn't remember anything. But I have been having flashbacks. I just remember me and Ashleigh being on fire. We were outside the pub having a drink. A bottle of ethanol exploded.
"I had someone chuck a bottle of wine over me and then I was taken to the toilet and had water splashed all over me."
After she was put on a ventilator, she woke up four days later.
April said, "I am in constant pain. Some days are harder and some days are better than others. I have had my mum here with me every day. I wouldn't have got through it without her."
She added that she has been speaking to Ashleigh most days, and as they are on the recovery road, they are supporting each other, reported Daily Mail.
Ashleigh has had skin grafts taken from her legs to treat her burned hands. She also has to wear a special face mask for healing purpose.
Suffolk Police spokesperson said that the two women's condition is "described as stable and their injuries are life-changing. No arrests have been made."
"However, a man has been interviewed voluntarily regarding the incident. Enquiries are ongoing in regards to the circumstances.”
