The blue touchpaper was lit and everyone retired immediately, just as the firework code recommends.

That is, except for the squaddie who had recently returned home from a tour of duty in Iraq, and thought that Bonfire Night needed enlivening.

The soldier was on all fours with his trousers down and a certain part of his anatomy pointing at the stars with a Black Cat Thunderbolt rocket firmly in place.

The stunt, which mimicked a scene in the controversial film Jackass: The Movie, went off with a bang at the end of the display in Sunderland, but it backfired on the intrepid squaddie.

The man, aged 22, ended up in his local hospital, where he is being treated for a scorched colon and other injuries.

In something of an under-statement, safety experts said yesterday that launching a rocket from the backside was a practice that contravened the firework code.

Police and paramedics were called to the Monkwearmouth area of the city on Bonfire Night. A spokeswoman for the North East Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 9.38pm and a crew was sent out. The report stated there was a male who had a firework in his bottom and it was bleeding. He was attended to and taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital.”

Daniel Kassim, 16, witnessed the incident. He said: “There were around 40 of us at a bonfire. After the fire had finished we were hanging around setting off fireworks. The lad was saying: ‘This is boring, what can we do?’ He decided to put a rocket up his backside and set it off. Everyone was just laughing and didn’t believe he would do it but he pulled his trousers down, placed the firework and someone lit it.

“It exploded within a few seconds and he fell to the ground. No one thought he was hurt, we all thought it was hilarious.

“He stood up and walked for a few metres before stumbling and falling to the ground. There was blood coming from his bum. An ambulance was called and when they arrived they thought it was hilarious as well. No one really took it seriously.”

The incident left the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) in disbelief. A spokesman said: “It’s so unfortunate that someone is now paying the price for the misuse of fireworks. Let’s not forget these are explosives. They come with specific instructions about how they should be used.

“It’s very sad that this person has had to learn about the dangers posed by fireworks in this way. There’s been widespread campaigning over the years about the dangers posed by these explosives.”

RoSPA said that more than a quarter of injuries caused by fireworks were caused by people fooling around in the street. Police are understood not to be carrying out any further inquiries.

John Woodhead, chairman of the Firework Association, said that he had never heard of an incident like it in 45 years.

Mr Woodhead added: “This sort of thing is beyond belief. We have spent a long time working with the Government to create laws that make fireworks safer and better for the public. This incident is very concerning but hopefully an isolated one.”

The injured man was captured on video performing his bizarre stunt while onlookers roared with laughter.

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