'It felt like I was burning for a lifetime': Mum 'on fire for five minutes' recalls bonfire horror

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A woman who set herself on fire after pouring petrol on a lit bonfire said she 'felt like I was burning for a lifetime' as she recalled the horror. Louise Chadwick claims her entire lower body was engulfed for around five minutes.

She told how her daughter, Georgia, rushed to help after hearing her screams - filling up jugs of water and frantically dousing her to quell the flames.

Louise, 41, was airlifted to hospital and spent two weeks in intensive care. The mum-of-three suffered third degree burns to her lower body and arms, leaving her needing a skin graft. In total, she suffered 13 severe burns to her shins, thighs, legs, feet, arms, hands and lower torso.

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Now, six years on, she says she's determined to conquer her Bonfire Night fears for the sake of her young grandson. Louise has been scared of open flames ever since and suffered from PTSD. Determined not to let the trauma stop her enjoying life, she plans to take her grandson Hugo, two, to a Bonfire Night event next month for the first time since the accident.

Louise, a logo designer, from Radcliffe, near Bury, said: "Most people see fire and think it is mesmerising. When I look at fire, I only see it on me. I see myself set on fire again and it creeping up to my face, feeling the hotness of it.

"The flashbacks creep up when I'm not expecting it - I can be sat watching TV with my family and nobody knows I'm reliving everything in my mind from that day. But I'm a fighter and I won't be defeated - I'm going to face my fear head