A father and his two children were in hospital last night after a fireball ripped through their car while they were inside.

The man and his 12-year-old daughter were badly burned while his ten-year-old son was praised for his heroic efforts to put out the blaze.

The accident happened while the family were on a day trip to the beach in Newhaven.

They had returned to their car in the West Beach car park, in Fort Road, so they could eat a picnic out of the cold.

The father, whose name has not been released, was trying to cook some beans on a lit gas stove when he pierced a separate gas canister as he prepared to use it.

The gas exploded and sent the fireball spreading through the vehicle of the family from Bracknell, Berkshire.

Watch commander Mark Winton, from Newhaven Fire Station, said the flames only lasted for a few seconds but that the man and his daughter were caught badly by the blaze.

His son burst out of a car door, escaping the worst of the fire, before going back inside to try to put out the remains and get his sister to safety.

The car itself did not catch fire despite the burning gas and once the blaze was out the man, in shock, started to try to drive to hospital.

He was stopped by the fire crew as they arrived following a 999 call from a passer-by.

Firefighters gave first aid until an ambulance arrived.

The man and his daughter were last night being treated at specialist burns units for wounds to their hands and faces.