Horrific moment patients run for cover as boy lights aerosol flamethrower in A&E

27 January 2024 , 10:07

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Patients at the Royal Liverpool Hospital ran for cover after a flame was ignited in A&E (Image: UGC)

This alarming image shows a 17-year-old boy appear to use an aerosol can and lighter as a makeshift "flamethrower" in A&E.

The teenager is accused of aiming the flames at two men, who ran for cover, at Royal Liverpool University Hospital near the Islington area of the city. Police were called and since confirmed the boy was swiftly restrained by family members and no serious injury was caused.

The teenager was detained by security staff and assessed by mental health nurses before receiving further treatment. None of the men in the A&E department were seriously hurt.

A spokesperson for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We don’t condone acts of violence or aggression and the safety of our patients and colleagues is our priority. We have provided support to the patients involved in the incident and the matter has been referred to Merseyside Police."

Footage, which was shared on social media, shows the teen behaving erratically before he then walks towards a man on his phone in the waiting room and directs flames towards him on Monday afternoon.

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The man ducks and runs for cover from the flames, removing his jacket in the process, Liverpool Echo reports. The video then shows the boy appear to walk towards another man, using the aerosol can and lighter to ignite the flames for a second time. The flames are pointed towards the second man's face as he tries to duck to avoid them.

Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest and busiest hospital in Merseyside and Cheshire, and has the largest emergency department of its kind in the UK. It, like many other hospitals across the UK, came under fire last year when services were stretched. On one occasion, an elderly man spent nearly 30 hours on a trolley in a corridor there in what was described as scenes "like something from a war zone or a disaster movie".

Harry Lyness, 95, was taken in by ambulance after he had a fall in the night at his care home. When he arrived he joined a long queue of patients waiting on trolleys in a corridor.

Charlotte Hadfield