Man throws flaming pillow at girlfriend’s face then knocks himself out in a panic

A woman was left with severe facial burns after a night in took a disastrous turn when a bedroom candle set the furniture on fire.

Lucy Edwards, 21, was attempting to create a romantic atmosphere with her boyfriend Tom Blizard, 27, when one of her pillows caught fire.

In a panic, the pair started running around the room in an attempt to put out the flames.

Tom then tried to hurl the pillow out of the bedroom window to get it away but ended up throwing it straight into his girlfriend’s face.

Lucy was burnt on her eyelid, cheek, lip and nose.

But as he tried to redeem himself and extinguish any remaining flames, Tom ran into a cupboard door and knocked himself out.

Hairdresser Lucy, from Oxford, said: ‘I was just trying to make the bedroom feel romantic and candles are always an easy way of doing that.

‘We both totally panicked when we realised the pillow was on fire, leaping off the bed, and somehow the pillow ended up on my face with Tom passed out on the floor.

‘When I went to the hospital, the doctors said that my burns were so extensive that I could need plastic surgery as a result – it was that bad.’

She had to be signed off work for three weeks and said she still has small scars from the incident while the couple were staying in an Airbnb.

It happened during a romantic getaway to Wales three years ago but Lucy said she has only recently opened up about the drama, admitting it has gone down a treat with her salon clients.

She added: ‘We’d just finished watching a movie and Tom went to jump in the shower.

‘I got dressed up in some sexy lingerie I’d brought with me for his birthday and tried to make the bedroom feel romantic as he showered.

‘There was a candle in the kitchen so I brought it into the bedroom and put it on the bedside table.

‘We started to get intimate on the bed and things were going to plan until we heard this weird crackling right by my head and realised the pillow had caught fire.’

In the initial aftermath of the incident Lucy was too embarrassed to visit the hospital as she didn’t want to explain how she sustained the burns.

She added: ‘My face was all lumpy and tight, the burns had blistered up and with a deep red and purple hue all over them, they were clearly infected.

‘The doctors sent me to the burns unit immediately, and the hospital were totally shocked by the state of my face.

‘They told me I should have come in as soon as it happened, and that my face was so damaged that I could need plastic surgery.

‘Hearing that absolutely terrified me, but luckily the doctors were able to pull off all the scabbed areas, draining my blisters and cleaning them to save my face.’

Three years later, the couple are miraculously still going strong – although a few new ground rules have been introduced.

Lucy added: ‘Candles are officially banned from anywhere near the bedroom now and I’ll definitely not be using actual fire to set the mood ever again.’