The boys were celebrating their sister’s 18th birthday with a party in their garden when the man, thought to be the younger brother’s father, sprinkled a capful of petrol on to the charcoal. As he poured the petrol, a gust of wind blew the flames across the garden and set fire to Leroy Lawler, 13, and his half-brother Kyle, 6, who were both wearing highly flammable nylon football shirts.

Leroy ran in flames screaming through the terraced house in Southampton, setting fire to a set of curtains before running into the street.

Their mother, Janine Lawler, 35, burnt her right hand trying to put out the blaze and a friend, Matthew Betteridge, 13, also received minor burns to his throat.

Matthew, who is Leroy’s best friend, said: “Leroy said to me, ‘Come and watch us light the barbecue’. I went into the garden and saw someone pouring something on to it. Suddenly there was a big wave of flame coming across the garden towards me, a massive fireball. I didn’t know what to do so I just ducked. I turned around and saw Kyle’s legs were on fire, then I heard Leroy screaming. I tried to help Kyle but someone told me to run.

“Leroy ran into the road — all his clothes were on fire and he didn’t have any hair left. You couldn’t recognise his face. It was really bad.”

Leroy suffered serious burns to his face, arms, hands and stomach and is on a life- support machine. He is in a serious but stable condition. Kyle is being treated for severe burns to his legs and torso. Both boys and Kyle’s father, who suffered burns to his hands during the incident on Saturday, were being treated at Southampton General Hospital yesterday.

A man has been charged aften an accident on the Ise of Sheppey, Kent, that killed three women in another car on Saturday.

In Maidenhead, Berkshire, a family of eight was hit by a motorcyclist who ploughed into them as they walked along a pavement on their way to watch England’s World Cup match on Saturday.

The rider was arrested after the crash, which left a woman critically ill in hospital and at least three other members of her family injured. Witnesses said that the motorcyclist left the road and sent the three women, three men and two young children flying into the road.

Motorists stranded on the M25 yesterday after an accident on the anti-clockwise lane between junctions 5 and 6 in Kent and Surrey close the motorway for several hours played football and sunbathed. Nine people received treatment at the Bupa Capital 10K Run in Hyde Park, in London, as the heat took its toll.

Across the city on Saturday there were 5,000 call-outs for an ambulance, compared with a daily average of 3,000.

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