Family horror after boy aged seven is set on fire by friends

-Mirror

 Aberdeen,Scotland: The horrified family of a seven-year-old boy have told of their shock after his friends allegedly doused him in petrol and set him on fire.

Relatives of the youngster - named locally as Preston Flores - were left horrified after seeing him running in the street in flames. He has now been rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

The horror unfolded after a group of children allegedly took petrol from the back of an unattended council vehicle in Aberdeen.

A relative, who did not want to be named, said: "I've never seen anything so horrible in my whole life.

"I ran out and saw him running up the street in flames, they were covering his whole body.

"His clothes were half burnt off him and half sticking to him. It was awful. I was in floods of tears."

The family member said she was only alerted to the tragic scene after another relative banged on her door.

The blaze was put out by quick-thinking neighbours who splashed water on the boy.

The relative said: "I was in my house getting ready and my cousin banged on my door shouting 'He's on fire, he's on fire'.

"Around 40 people ran out of their flats and started chucking water on him.

"His mum collapsed when she found out and she needed to be taken in the same ambulance for oxygen."

Emergency services sped to the scene just before 2pm and rushed the youngster to the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital together with his mother.

The relative claimed the children had been playing out on the road when they took a petrol can out of the back of a council lorry.

She said: "Him and a group of mates were just mucking about. They were playing near a council van that had petrol in the back of it. I don't think they knew it was petrol.

"The back of the van was open and his mates were chucking petrol on him. They had lighters and they were sparking them.

"The next thing I know he is running down the road screaming."

A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said the authority would not be drawn on the allegation of the petrol being taken from one of its vans.

He said: "We are assisting police with their enquiries and our thoughts are with the family of the boy."

Barney Crockett, Aberdeen City Council leader, said: "I feel sorry for this boy and what's happened to him.

"Obviously thoughts are with the family and the boy that's been injured. We'll have to look at things when we know more in due course."

Police said they were following a positive line of inquiry in their investigation, but were still trying to establish whether petrol had been used.

A spokeswoman said: "We were called to an incident regarding a young boy on fire.

"Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Scottish Ambulance Service are responding to reports of a boy receiving burn injuries in the Bedford Avenue area of Aberdeen.

"Police Scotland was alerted to the incident at 1.57pm and Bedford Avenue is currently closed to traffic.

"A seven year old boy has been taken to Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital and enquiries are currently on-going to establish the circumstances of the incident.

"Anyone with information and who hasn't spoken to police is asked to contact Police Scotland urgently on 101."