Mum, Just Kill Me’: Sheffield Boy, 12, Suffers Horrific Burns After Petrol Explosion

A 12-year-old boy from Sheffield has been left with life-changing injuries after a fire accident that saw him engulfed in flames in a local field.

Hunter Jory was playing with friends on August 18 when the children lit a small fire using a flint. Moments later, another child threw a petrol can onto the flames, causing a sudden explosion.

Hunter, who had been standing close by, was caught in the fireball. The heat and flames consumed the right side of his body, leaving him severely burned and fighting for his life.

Witnesses said Hunter fell to the ground and tried to roll to extinguish the flames, while his friends pulled at his burning coat in a frantic attempt to help. Despite his injuries, he managed to run before collapsing outside a nearby friend’s home.

His mother, Kim, 38, was called immediately. Thinking her son had been in a road accident, she rushed to the scene only to discover the horrifying truth.

“I didn’t think for a minute that he had been set on fire,” she said. “When I saw him, I was mortified. He was in agony and begging me to let him die.”

Kim carried her son to a nearby doctor’s surgery just five doors away, where staff poured water over his burns and inserted a cannula while they waited for an ambulance.

“He was screaming, ‘Mum, just kill me,’” she recalled. “When we reached the hospital his skin was still cooking. He kept crying out, ‘Put me out.’”

Doctors later confirmed that Hunter had suffered extensive burns to his thigh, leg, knee, face, scalp, and hands. The blaze also destroyed part of his ear, as well as skin on his forehead, nose, lips, and eyelids.

       

Surgeons worked to remove dead tissue anddress his wounds. Hunter is now expected toneed multiple skin grafts through out his life,as scarred skin stretches and tears as he grows.     

Kim admitted that her son’s appearance has already changed permanently. “His face isn’t the same as it was before. I’ve tried to explain this to him, but he hasn’t really processed it yet,” she said.

The devastated parent is now urging others to teach their children about the dangers of fire and fuel. “You don’t expect something like this to happen to your own child,” she said. “Hunter is lucky he ran in the direction that he did. If he had gone the other way, I might never have found him. He would have been left in that field, cooking in the flames and screaming in pain on his own.”

Kim has praised the medical staff who acted quickly to save Hunter’s life, but knows her son’s recovery will be long and difficult. “This isn’t just about scars—it’s about the trauma he has been through and the years of treatment ahead,” she added.

The accident has shocked the local community, with many parents expressing sympathy and horror at how quickly an innocent game turned into a life-threatening tragedy. Fire safety experts warn that petrol is highly volatile and can cause explosions even from small sparks.

Kim hopes sharing her family’s ordeal will prevent other children from making the same mistake. “If this can stop one more child from being burned, then at least something good can come from what Hunter has suffered,” she said.

Hunter remains in recovery and faces multiple surgeries in the years ahead. His family say they are determined to support him every step of the way.