Gary Iredale, 52, from Blackpool, is on the run after allegedly dousing his former lover in petrol and setting her alight in Vietnam

The parents of a British businessman on the run after allegedly turning a woman he was infatuated with into a human fireball in Vietnam have urged their son to hand himself in.

Gary Iredale, 52, from Blackpool, doused his former lover in petrol and set her alight in a jealous rage after she ended their relationship and told him she was in love with another man, it is claimed.

Nguyen Hang suffered horrific injuries in the attack at a tailor shop where she worked in Hanoi - and is in a critical condition in hospital with 70 per cent burns to her body.

Police issued a warrant for vending machine boss Iredale's arrest after he fled Vietnam on Monday after the attack.

He is said to have flown to Thailand and is now believed to be hiding in the Philippines.

His 'heartbroken' father Roy called him a 'silly fool', telling the Mail: 'If you do a thing like that, you have to stand by it and take your punishment.

'It is so unlike him. He was the life and soul of the party, he always was. Everybody liked him wherever he went. I think he should hand himself in.'

Gary had returned home to Blackpool, Lancs, before Christmas to visit his father who had been in hospital following a fall.

Roy added: 'Gary seemed besotted by her. He was always praising her and on the phone to her all the time he was here.'

Roy said his son moved to Hanoi, Vietnam, three years ago to teach English. He has Australian citizenship and still owns a house in the country.

He met and married an Australian woman while he was travelling, but they have now divorced and she lives in India.

His mother Nora added: 'I feel sick and can’t believe it’s happening. I never thought he would do something like that. What has he done? I am heartbroken.

Nguyen Hang (pictured), a single mother, suffered horrific injuries in the attack at a tailor shop where she worked in Hanoi - and is in a critical condition with 70 per cent burns in hospital

Brother Martin said: 'He is not a violent person. It is so out of character. It is unreal. I wasn’t aware that he knew anyone in the Philippines.'

Ms Hang's brother-in-law Minh Duong Hoang told MailOnline: 'Nguyen is very badly hurt. My wife and her mother are with her in hospital in Hanoi. I am going to see her tomorrow. We are praying that she will survive.'

Ex-pat Alan Nicholls, who was in the shop with his wife, said: 'It was the most shocking thing I've ever seen.

'This guy came into the shop, wearing a face mask, and threw petrol over the woman and the rest of the shop and set her on fire. It's rocked the local community to its core.'

Ben Evans, from Liverpool, lives two floors below Iredale in an apartment block in a quiet suburb in Hanoi, has known him for 18 months.

Mr Evans described him as a 'normal guy' who lived alone and was a partner in a vending machine business.

He said he saw Iredale having an argument with a Vietnamese woman on Sunday morning.

'Both myself and my girlfriend heard Gary shouting at a Vietnamese girl, ushering her out of the building and yelling: 'F*** off, get the f*** out.'

On the day Ms Hang was doused in petrol, Mr Evans said he saw Iredale behaving erratically and shouting in the street.

'We watched him from our balcony, in the street chasing a stray dog, shouting all sorts of obscenities at the dog and arguing with an elderly Vietnamese man.

Mr Evans said his girlfriend saw Iredale on Monday after the alleged attack.

'She said nothing was out of ordinary, a few conversational pleasantries and she drove off to work,' he said.

Mr Evans said that a friend of his had been with Iredale on Sunday night, where he had taken ecstasy and LSD.

'My friend said Gary was upset about his Vietnamese girlfriend not wanting to be with him anymore - and said he had problems with his elderly parents back home in the UK,' Mr Evans said.

'He was never short of partners over the time I knew him, all local Vietnamese women, and seemed a popular guy with his peers,' he said.

'Over the past few months, he's had family troubles at home with aging parents and regularly goes home to see them, usually a few weeks at a time.'

Vo an Khanh, from the Tay Ho police in Hanoi confirmed that a warrant has been issued for Iredale's arrest and that he had fled Vietnam.