Partygoer dressed as Larry the Lamb saved by 'Jesus' after being set alight



Peter Buck's fancy dress Larry the Lamb costume. Someone set the costume alight. He survived, but was left with severe burns on his hands and across his body

A reveller dressed as Larry the Lamb suffered these horrific burns after a prankster set fire to his outfit - and he turned into a human fireball.

Peter Buck, 35, spent four hours painstakingly gluing four bags of cotton wool to his torso to look like the famous cartoon character.



He went on a boozy night out with a group of mates - also in fancy dress - before ducking out of a pub for a cigarette.



With Peter's permission, a tipsy friend set fire to a loose strand of his costume 'to see what would happen'.



But the joke went horribly wrong and Peter's lamb costume burst into flames.



He ran screaming in agony into a busy main road before a driver swerved, narrowly avoiding mowing him down.



Then his friend Paul Bisson - an off-duty firefighter dressed as Jesus - bear-hugged him in a bid to douse the flames.



The cotton wool had melted and stuck to his body, causing a string of horrendous injuries to his body, legs, hands and torso.

Peter, an office administrator of Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, lost consciousness after the incident and woke up in hospital - eight hours later.

He said: 'It caught fire and burnt so fast, igniting my whole outfit almost instantly.

'I ran into the road trying to pat the flames out with my hands forcing a car to swerve, avoiding knocking me over by inches.

'Half the skin on my hands had burnt off as well as having numerous other burns on my legs, stomach, chest and arms.

'I burnt my face a little and had small burns to my lips and nose. I'm not a religious man, but the Lord saved me that day.

'I woke up eight hours later in intensive care with various tubes in me and breathing using a ventilator.

'They had covered my hands with bags which they later removed and I got my first glimpse it was not pretty.'



Peter was on a night out with a group of friends on October 16 when he was set on fire outside Guernsey's Drunken Duck pub.

One friend, who has not been named, suggested lighting a piece of cotton wool hanging from the costume.



But the fire quickly engulfed him and quick-thinking Paul Bisson hugged him and patted him down in a bid to control the flames before putting his hands in cold water to minimise the long-term damage.

Peter was rushed to the Salisbury Hospital Burns Unit, where doctors told him he could be in hospital for six months and that he might lose two fingers and never regain full use of his hands.

Peter Buck injuries after his fancy dress Larry the Lamb costume went up in flames after a friend help remove some loose bit by burning them Fireman Paul Bisson and Peter Buck at Fire Station St Peter Port. The client administrator paid tribute to the quick-thinking actions off his friend, off-duty firefighter Paul Bisson, for saving him from the flames

'I was told I would almost certainly need skin grafts and have scarring for the rest of my life,' he said.

'I want to remind people to think twice about dressing-up especially with candles and cigarettes around.

'A friend of mind said he'd heard of a Santa Claus's beard catching fire.'



Peter also paid tribute to off-duty firefighter Paul, for saving him from the flames, adding: 'You could argue that he saved my life.



'It doesn't bear thinking how much worse the burns would have been had he not been there.'



Paul's brave actions have seen him receive a chief fire officer's commendation and hailed a hero.

He added: 'I'm just pleased he's alright, that's the main thing. I was glad that I was there at the time to help out.

'I just did what I was trained to do and reacted like that. I ran into the road trying to pat the flames out with my hands.'

