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Aberdeen: Boy Found On Fire After 'Petrol Game'

Aberdeen: Boy Found On Fire After 'Petrol Game'

A seven-year-old boy who suffered serious burns while playing in an Aberdeen street may have been set on fire in a game that went tragically wrong.

Preston Flores, who is believed to have suffered 80% burns, was reportedly playing with friends in Bedford Avenue when he was engulfed in flames.

The children are believed to have taken a petrol can from the back of a van shortly before the fire started, local newspaper The Press and Journal reported .

A police spokesman confirmed petrol was involved but said there was no evidence to suggest the "tragic incident" was a deliberate act.

Witnesses described hearing screams and said the youngster's clothes stuck to his body as neighbours tried to douse the flames.

One relative told the Daily Record that Preston had been "mucking about" with mates before his clothes caught fire.

"I've never seen anything so horrible in my life," the family member said.

"The flames were covering his whole body."

Preston was initially taken to the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital but was moved to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh overnight.

He is being treated in a specialist unit, where his condition is described as critical.

Chief Inspector Nick Topping, the local Police Scotland area commander, said: "We're grateful for the continued assistance we've received from the local community to help us piece together the events leading up to this incident.

"We've spoken to a number of residents about what they saw or heard which has been very helpful and important to our inquiry."

He added: "Our investigation into this tragic incident will continue and I'd reiterate that so far there's been no evidence of any deliberate act."

Anyone who saw what happened or has information that may assist the police inquiry is asked to contact officers on the 101 non-emergency number.