A dad from Manchester was left in crippling agony after an e-cigarette exploded ‘like a firework’.

Colin Crow, who lives in Levenshulme , said the heat from the blast was so hot that it melted the cashpoint card inside his pocket.

The 32-year-old described the explosion like a “firework”, with flames leaping from his pocket – where the electronic cigarette was – and charring his left hand, thigh, knee and calf.

Colin, who has a seven-year-old son, had been on a night out with friends in Sheffield on January 30 when the incident happened.

He described the experience as terrifying.

“In an instant it stated firing like a Roman candle. It was terrifying.

“The flame shot from my pocket. It was about a foot long. People outside the bar were saying they thought someone had set a firework off.”

A bouncer outside the bar attempted to give Colin first aid until an ambulance arrived and took him to Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital where he was quickly transferred to the burns unit for specialist treatment.

The burns to his hand resulted in temporary loss of movement and the ones to his left leg, which cover two thirds of his thigh, his calf and behind his left knee have left him unable to walk without considerable pain.

“People need to know what these devices are capable of.

“If it had exploded near my face, I can’t bear to think of the consequences. Or if it had happened inside the bar many more people besides me could have been injured.”

Economic consultant Colin has been unable to work since the explosion and has to visit doctors every two days for check-ups and dressing changes.

He has since instructed liability lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the incident.

Colin bought the electronic smoking device on December 20, later buying a replacement lithium battery and charger from another registered Manchester retailer.

All lithium batteries can suffer from overheating, but the risk is greater when batteries are manufactured using poor quality components.

Matthew Newbould, an expert product liability lawyer at Irwin Mitchell , representing Colin, said: “This is the latest is a series of incidents in which e-cigarettes have caused extensive burns after exploding in people’s pockets and it is clear that an urgent investigation is needed to determine if more should be done to protect the users.

“Colin has been left with significant burns and has been unable to return to work while he receives ongoing treatment. We are now investigating exactly what caused his device to explode as we seek to help him overcome what happened.

“It is important that e-cigarette users are aware of incidents like these and that anyone else who has experienced similar events to Colin comes forward as they may be able to help with our investigations. It’s crucial that manufacturers learn lessons from these incidents to ensure this cannot happen again.”