A woman suffered serious burns to her face and head after a gust of wind blew her lit cigarette into her beehive hairdo. Continue reading after the jump.
Sasha Butler, 43, was walking her dog near her home in Moreton-on-Lugg, Herefordshire, when the freak accident happened.
She had just lit up outside the village shop when the wind flipped the cigarette into her face, setting fire to her frizzy fringe.
One horrified shopper said her head went up in flames ‘like a belisha beacon’.
Sasha managed to smother the fire with her hands before collapsing in agony.
Shop owner Benny Krige said: ‘The woman got herself to the shop and collapsed, her hair still smoking.
‘My staff got her comfortable, gave her some basic first aid and dialled 999.’
One villager said: ‘Sasha is lovely, she’s a flamboyant personality in the village.
‘She has light brown hair in a bob but I was told she had it in a beehive style when the accident happened.
‘One minute she stopped to light a cigarette and the next her head was covered in flames.
‘It must have been terrifying for her but she has family nearby and friends who will support her through this.’
Sasha was airlifted to a specialist burns unit at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
She suffered burns to her head, face and smoke inhalation.
Dr Malcolm Russell, of Mercia Accident Rescue Service, said: ‘She had significant burns to her head, face and airway, we gave her pain relief and got her stabilised for the flight to the QE.’
