A GOLFING pro has revealed the moment he was engulfed in flames when he claims e-cigarette batteries exploded in his pocket.

Will Hawksworth, 24, was driving to work when he says the batteries exploded “like fireworks” – with the flames burning his chest and stomach through his clothes.

6 Will Hawksworth suffered serious burns after he says an e-cigarette battery exploded in his pocket Credit: Supplied

The PGA professional, based at Wortley Golf Club, desperately leapt from the car as the battery’s flames consumed the vehicle on January 21 last year.

Speaking to the Sun Online, Will recounted: “I was driving with my girlfriend in the passenger seat and she yelled ‘stop the car, stop the car, you’re on fire’.

“It was like a firework had gone off in my pocket.

“It burnt across all of my chest, all of my stomach through my clothes.

Will, who had the battery in his gilet's top pocket, said he managed to pull himself free from the car on Redmires Road in Sheffield as the batteries fell into the vehicle's centre console.

The flames then ripped through his car, with fire crews having to be called in to extinguish the fire.

He said: “I got out the car and my clothes were hanging off me.

“They were all burnt – I had bits of clothes I was trying to peel off.

“It was snowing at the time so I grabbed the cleanest snow I could find and tried to put myself out.”

What are e-cigs, what is vaping and what are the laws? Electronic cigarettes are handheld, battery powered vaporisers that are used to simulate smoking through the inhilation of nicotine - e-cigs are allow a smoker to get a nicotine hit without any of the harmful substances in tobacco, like tar and carbon monoxide.

The term 'vaping' is so-called due to the vapour that e-cigs produce, as opposed to smoke from traditional cigarettes.

Vapour is produced from an e-liquid, e-liquids come in a variety of flavours and still do contain some toxic chemicals found in cigarettes, just at lower levels.

Laws restrict the amount of e-liquid that can be sold at any one time and state that E-liquid packaging must be child-resistant and tamper evident, asditives including colouring, caffeine and taurine are banned, and that all e-cigarettes and e-liquids must be registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency before they can be sold.

Generally, vaping indoors in public places is not prohibited.

You must be 18 to buy e-cigs or liquids in the UK and 21 in the US.

Some 7.4million Brits smoke and 2.8million use e-cigs, Office for National Statistics figures show.

Will had only just bought the batteries the day before the fire, charging them and putting them back into their cardboard box.

Electronic cigarettes are handheld vaporisers that use batteries to simulate smoking.

But Will said he had now given up the devices - too traumatised after his horrific injuries.

He was unable to work for weeks after the fire, and still has scars across his chest.

'THEY AREN'T SAFE'

He said he now opted to smoke instead of using e-cigarettes as he was concerned over the safety of the electronics.

Will said: "They just aren't safe.

"I wouldn't feel safe charging the batteries overnight when it has the capability of burning my house down."

And the young man is now in the process of claiming compensation from ecigarette battery company Efest.

He said: “People need to know about the dangers.”

Efest has been contacted for comment.

The company's website warns not to mix batteries and metal objects, advising users to store products in a cool, dry area.

However, Will said the battery was the only thing in his pocket at the time of the fire.

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It comes after passengers were left in shock as an e-cigarette burst into flames in an overhead locker.

And a man was left in a coma after using a cheap e-cigarette he bought off the street in the US.

Last month, we reported that a teenager had suffered horrific injuries after his e-cigarette exploded in his mouth and blew out his teeth.

6 Will was treated by paramedics after the terrifying experience in January last year Credit: Supplied

6 The 24-year-old golfing pro was unable to work for several weeks Credit: Supplied

6 Will said his girlfriend Molly Biney had shouted he was on fire Credit: Supplied

6 Will used nearby snow to douse the flames

6 Fire crews had to be called to put the fire out Credit: Supplied

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