A BROTHER and sister were taken to hospital with burns after a can of hairspray exploded on a barbecue yesterday.

The pair, a 12-year-old-boy and a 14-year-old girl, were playing with the canister over the dying embers of a garden grill when it overheated and blew up.

The boy suffered severe skin burns to about 40% of his body, mostly his face and chest, while his sister sustained superficial burns to her hands and knees.

Their quick-thinking mother grabbed them and put them under a cold shower while waiting for emergency services to arrive at their home in The Willows, Storrington.

Mark Hayter, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s fire investigation officer, was at the scene.

He said: “When you have flammable canisters they are in fact a small bomb.

“When they explode they will spread a ball of fire.”

An air ambulance, fire crews and paramedics were called to the house at about 10.30am.

The fire crew extinguished the barbecue with buckets of water and no property was damaged.

Emergency staff used special gel packs for the burns to treat the two children before they were taken to Worthing Hospital. The boy ended up going to a burns unit at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, which also deals with specialist reconstructive surgery for the south east of England.

It is thought the siblings were using paper to try to light the canister before placing it in the embers.

Mr Hayter said the family was “very shocked” with the “explosive power” of the hairspray, adding: “It’s a lesson learnt by all.”

He said many young people play with fire, creating small flame-throwers using aerosol cans.

But he also warned that grown-ups come to harm, too, when trying to light barbecues with accelerants.

He added: “Every year we have quite a few events where people play with canisters and get burnt.

“Children and adults don’t respect fire as much as they should.

“These things can look like fun but the scars last a lifetime.”