A POLICE officer has spoken of the shocking moment he was engulfed in flames after being hit by a flare during violence before a football match.
PC Andy Forbes, aged 43, was injured when Legia Warsaw fans clashed with police near Villa Park in November.
He said he was “eternally grateful” not to receive lasting injuries after describing how he “went off like a crackerjack” during the incident.
PC Forbes, based in Kidderminster, was one of a number of officers from West Mercia Police and other forces supporting their West Midlands Police colleagues at the European Conference League game between Aston Villa and Legia Warsaw. Aston Villa won the match 2-1.
He said he had been clearing bricks, bottles, and debris from where the officers were positioned when he was hit by a traffic sign.
Describing the incident, PC Forbes said: “Within a minute or so of that, a flare came in and landed on me.”
“At that stage, I was aware of a bright pink intense light around my upper chest.
“The noise was like a high-octane burning sound; it was getting brighter and pinker.
“I’d got my shield in one hand and I was patting my chest thinking I’ve got to do something about this.
“I was actually quite calm. I was just thinking there’s something wrong here, you’ve got to do something about it, what are you going to do?
“I remember it as a Roman candle effect and these little orange flickers coming off it. I was going off like a crackerjack.
“It was getting brighter and more intense.
“I was joined by six colleagues from the West Midlands Police who were patting me to try to put out the flames.
“I was thrown to the floor and I fought to put the flames out. It was the old stop, drop and roll.
“I was on my front and I was saying to my colleagues ‘is it out, get it out’.
“The whole incident probably lasted 15 to 20 seconds and then I was aware that I had this smell, like when you chuck a bucket of water on a fire and it’s gone out.
“The relief and the adrenalin dump I got was unbelievable.”
An experienced officer with 18 years of public order policing, PC Forbes said it was one of the most violent situations he’d policed.
He spent the night on the burns unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where he was treated for minor burns, and smoke and heat inhalation.
PC Forbes added: “It was like a scene out of a film, certainly like nothing I’d seen before.”
“It’s nothing lasting, for which I’m eternally grateful for.”
“It could have been very different.”
He’s back on the force, and also supporting colleagues as a Federation rep, a position he’s held for almost three years.
West Mercia Police Federation chair Barry Horton said: “The violence that officers faced that night was unacceptable.
“At the end of the day, they’re men and women, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, and they shouldn’t have to face violence or the threat of violence just for doing their jobs.
“As a Federation, we’ve offered our support to members who were policing that night and continue to do so.”
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