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CCTV footage of an electronic cigarette exploding in the face of a young pub worker has emerged.

Laura Baty, 18, escaped serious injury after the cigarette burst into flames at the Buck Inn Hotel in Richmond.

She suffered minor burns to her arms and her dress was damaged.

‘I was about to give somebody their change and I heard the bang,’ she told the York Press.


‘I could see the fire coming at me and I felt the heat as I ran away.’

An e cigarette exploded in the face of a barmaid (Picture: Ross Parry)

She continued: ‘I started crying hysterically and my arm was all black. My dress caught on fire as I ran away and I just didn’t know what was happening.’



The e-cig, which also left a customer with a red mark on their stomach, belonged to a colleague who had been charging it on an iPad charger.

It eventually burnt itself out on the pub floor.

Richmond fire officer Steve Bake said he was concerned about the incident.

He added: ‘If that had happened in someone’s house, it could have set curtains or furniture ablaze so there is a clearly a big risk here. Especially if someone has no smoke detectors.’