Boy hit by fireball while toasting marshmallows in restaurant

A restaurant has admitted health and safety breaches after a 10-year-old boy was engulfed by flames while toasting marshmallows on a firepit.

The child was with his family at Monterey Jack's in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, when the burner's flame went out.

The firm admitted staff training was "clearly not sufficient" after a 16-year-old waitress poured on liquid fuel which ignited in a fireball.

Airdrie Sheriff Court heard that the boy required three years of specialist treatment for severe burns after the incident in November 2018.

A doctor told his parents that wearing glasses at the time had likely saved his vision.

Sheriff Joseph Hughes said the fuel burner was "inherently dangerous in a public setting".

The court heard that the restaurant had been open for only two weeks when the accident happened.

The metal fuel burner was surrounded by stones to give the effect of a campfire, in keeping with the Wild West theme of the restaurant.

Prosecutor Kristina Kelly told how the boy and his 14-year-old sister had been together at the fire pit when the flame went out.

A waitress tried unsuccessfully to relight it with a lighter.

Ms Kelly said: "She got a bottle of liquid fuel, told the children to stand back and poured this on the fire pit.

"Residual flames caused the fuel to ignite and a burst of flames went across the restaurant.

Ms Kelly said the boy's mother heard a loud bang and rushed to the area where she saw her son crouched in a ball.

"She patted his clothing to put out the flames and saw he had burns to his face, ear, eyebrow and eyelashes."

Ms Kelly said the boy needed extensive treatment, was required to stay out of direct sunlight and was left with scars on his cheek and eyebrow.

She said he became very anxious following the incident and his parents were told he had "borderline post-traumatic stress disorder".

The court heard that the waitress and the boy's sister had minor burns that did not require treatment.

Ms Kelly said lighting the fire pit should have been a job for a restaurant manager.

She said it was clear that "staff training was lacking" and employees were "not made aware of the dangers"

Monterey Jack's has several restaurants in central Scotland. The Airdrie branch closed in 2022.

The firm admitted two charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Company director Gary Marshall expressed his "sincere regret".

He said: "General risk assessments did exist but were clearly not sufficient in relation to the fuel burner.

"Training and supervision for under-18s was inadequate.

"Immediately after this incident all fire pits in our premises were removed to ensure there would be no recurrence of this."

Sentencing will take place in December.