A FIREFIGHTER who was “horrendously” burnt in a blaze started for “fun” is warning youngsters about the dangers of starting fires.

Crew manager of Sittingbourne fire station Mat Barney has released graphic images of the burns he sustained tackling a grass fire at Dartford Heath in July 2005 for a poster campaign launched by Kent Fire and Rescue called ‘Can you guess what it is?’.

The poster shows his severely burnt arm following the fire.

The father-of-two from Sittingbourne says a petrol can that was among flytipped rubbish exploded in his face while he was tackling the blaze, singeing his eyelashes together and burning his face.

He then became disorientated and fell over, leading to the burn on his right arm.

The 42-year-old said: “I was in tremendous agony.

News Shopper: Mr Barney says he looked like the elephant man

“I looked like the elephant man, I couldn’t touch my face or move my arm.

“I thought I’d have to have it amputated. It was horrendous.”

Mr Barney, who took two years to heal from his injuries and had to have physio for his arm, told News Shopper how the incident affected his life.

He said: “One moment of madness can have life changing implications.

News Shopper: The firefighter had to have dressings on his arm every other day for four months

“It’s not just about the burn. I had two little girls at home, my dad was dying of cancer and my wife Janine had to cope with it all.“

The firefighter hopes the campaign will shock people into thinking twice before starting fires.

He said: “The youngsters who are doing this might think it’s harmless fun but fire can spread quickly and cause massive amounts of destruction.”

News Shopper: My Barney had to have physio for six months

The posters will be displayed around Dartford Heath on placards where there have been a lot of deliberate fires.

Dartford fire station manager Phil Rice said: “We thank Mat for agreeing to publicise his experiences because his story is a simple and shocking example of what fire can do.

“This poster is part of an ongoing campaign which has also seen fire crews out in the local community, our education team has been visiting local schools and Dartford Borough Council has been carrying out regular patrols of the open land.

“We are pleased to report that the number of incidents on the heath has actually fallen in the past month after we initially experienced a sudden increase earlier in the summer.

"However, we can’t afford to be complacent and will continue to tackle this by warning culprits that they face fines or several years in jail – possibly a life sentence if someone is killed as a result of their actions.”