A WORKMAN was turned into a human torch when a drum he was using to burn rubbish exploded in a horrific accident at a Chorley factory.

Lance Nixon, aged 25, was flown by air ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital where he is in intensive care after suffering around 30 per cent burns to his body.

Mr Nixon, who works at D B Powell Coachbuilders, Cowling Brow Industrial Estate where the accident happened, tried to douse his flames by rolling in a pool of rainwater. Other workers also turned a hose on him.

Police, fire and ambulance crews, and the Lancashire air ambulance rushed to the factory at around 3.30pm on Friday.

Onlookers from adjacent work units watched as Mr Nixon, a bodybuilder with his firm, was treated before being whisked away in a five-minute flight to hospital by helicopter.

Mr Nixon was said to have suffered burns to his arms, legs and face and was given painkilling injections by Dr Bob Bennett, of MedAlert, an organisation manned by GPs who give their spare time to respond to emergencies such as this.

Operations supervisor, paramedic Andy Wood, who attended in the air ambulance, said: "When we arrived there was already a paramedic crew from Leyland on the scene and also a MedAlert doctor.

"We think, although it has not been 100 per cent confirmed, it was some form of paint thinner that has ignited and caused his burns.

"The land ambulance was already in place and cooling his burns down. An intra-venus fluid drip had already been established."

He added: "His life wasn't in any danger, although he did have difficulty with his breathing as the time passed, so there was a major consideration in our treatment at the scene."

He praised all the emergency services for working together to help the accident victim.

A police officer at the scene told The Citizen: "The young lad had been burning paper in a drum and it exploded.

"There has been some kind of accelerant under the paper he hasn't seen as he lit it. The fumes exploded and he was set on fire.

David Powell, owner of the firm, said the police and Health and Safety Executive were investigating. He said he did not want to comment on the incident.

Mr Powell added that Mr Nixon, of Standish, has been with the firm for four months and said everyone at the firm was upset over the incident. The company, plant and vehicle refurbishment specialists, have been on the industrial estate for a year.

A spokesperson at Royal Preston Hospital described Mr Nixon's condition as "poorly" on Tuesday.