Greater Manchester gran to attend first firework display since being set alight by bonfire

A gran who suffered severe burns after being set alight by a bonfire is attending her first fireworks night - in a bid to overcome her fears.

Louise Chadwick, 41, has been scared of open flames since she suffered horrific burns. She was badly injured while setting fire to an old wardrobe. The accident saw Louise's entire lower body become engulfed in flames after burning petrol spilled onto her clothes.

She was alight for five minutes before her daughter Georgia Mulvey, 21, heard her screams and rushed to put the flames out by throwing jugs of water over her mum. Louise was airlifted to hospital and spent two weeks in intensive care after suffering third degree burns all over her lower body and arms leaving her in need of a skin graft.

The mum-of-three also suffered from PTSD after the incident and has lived with a fear of open flames ever since - but hopes this year will give her a chance to face her fears. Determined not to let the trauma stop her enjoying life, she plans to take her grandson Hugo, two, to a Bonfire Night event.

Louise, a logo designer, from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester., said: “Most people see fire and think it is mesmerising. When I look at fire, I only see it on me. I see myself set on fire again and it creeping up to my face, feeling the hotness of it.

"The flashbacks creep up when I'm not expecting it - I can be sat watching TV with my family and nobody knows I'm reliving everything in my mind from that day. But I'm a fighter and I won't be defeated - I'm going to face my fear head on this year for my grandson."

Gran-of-one Louise, then 36, had been trying to set alight her daughter's old wardrobe in her garden with her daughter's ex-boyfriend, in November 2017. But when Louise poured petrol on the furniture, she didn't realise that he had already got the fire going - and the fire suddenly exploded.

The fuel can Louise was holding immediately caught fire and she dropped it and slipped over, spilling petrol over herself. Her entire lower body was engulfed in flames for five minutes - before her daughter, Georgia, rushed to help after hearing her mother's screams.

Georgia filled up several jugs of water to frantically throw over her mum and eventually extinguished the flames. Louise was airlifted to hospital as a result of her injuries and spent the next two weeks in intensive care.

The mum-of-three suffered third degree burns all over her lower body and arms leaving her in need of a skin graft. In total she suffered 13 severe burns on her shins, thighs, legs, feet, arms, hands and lower torso.

She said: "Everything happened so fast from the moment I poured the petrol to the horror that came afterwards. It felt like I was burning for a lifetime, and I genuinely thought 'this is how my life is going to end'."

It took over a year for her burns to heal, but she says the scars she has will stay with her forever - both physically and mentally. Shortly after the accident in 2017, Louise was diagnosed with PTSD which can be triggered by everyday activities including filling the car up with petrol. She also has an extreme phobia of any kind of open flame - making fireworks and Bonfire Night a terrifying occasion.

Louise said: “I could have lost my face, my hair. I was sure I was going to die. But I was never prepared for the mental scars it left me with.”

Louise believes that this year's Bonfire Night, six years on, will help her overcome her fears. She is desperate to be able to go out and do 'normal' things - and to "be a bit better" for Hugo. The idea of exposure stemmed from her partner Carl Dover, 45, who suggested the two attend a Bonfire Night this year around.

The couple are planning to attend a medium-sized bonfire, as Louise doesn’t want to overwhelm herself with a busy crowd.

She added: “I hope I do get to do it - it will be a big step for me. I am 95% sure I can go, but there is always that little five per cent that niggles at you.

"I don’t want to push myself too far, but I am ready, and I want to be able to take Hugo too. It is all for him, really. If I don’t get there this year, it will happen at some point."