24/05/2005 By Stewart Payne
A man of 20 and a girl aged 17 were engulfed in flames when a home-made Star Wars "light sabre" exploded and showered them with burning petrol.
Mark Webb and Shelley Mandiville are thought to have filled a fluorescent tube with fuel to imitate the weapons in the latest Star Wars film Revenge of the Sith, released at the weekend. But their clothing caught fire and Mr Webb suffered 40 per cent burns.
Firemen were called to woodland near Hemel Hempstead, Herts, on Sunday and found them on the ground. Police think they had been filming themselves.
Last night they were in a critical condition at a specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex.
telegraph
uh... yeah....
petrol in a fluorescent tube? there's a new low in pyrotechnical awarness...
bloody gushers....
well at least they've taken the heat off the 'starwars kid'
EDIT: (or maybe they've been reading the ASK BAREND column)
This post has been edited by barend: 23 May 2005 - 08:43 PM