A MAN who turned into a human torch after his clothes caught fire as he tried to keep warm was fighting for his life today.

Ian Farnell, 35, suffered horrendous burns when his clothes set alight as he stood in front of a cooker trying to keep warm in his Horwich home.

Today neighbours told how Mr Farnell often warmed his flat by lighting two rings on his stove as well as the oven.

He sustained the most serious kind of burns - full depth - to 60 per cent of his body and needed emergency treatment from Blackrod-based paramedics.

Today his neighbour Gary Annis, 20, told how he smashed his way into Mr Farnell's flat after hearing his agonised screams.

Mr Annis said: "When I barged the door in there was just thick smoke and cinders on the floor.

"He was stood there shaking and naked with his clothes around his ankles. His skin was hanging off his chest, his back and his sides. "It was a terrible mess. He said that he had been trying to warm himself up. He often used the cooker to heat the flat up, it was the only heater he had.

"He managed to sit down then just shouted 'Gary, Gary pour some water over me!'. I managed to do that and then he just went quiet.

"He was in a real mess. The skin was hanging off his arms and hands. It looked like he had been wearing rubber gloves which had melted."

Mr Annis's sister Jane Annis - with whom Mr Farnell had a daughter, Ebony, three - spoke of her horror to learn of her former partner's injuries.

She added: "He's a good lad and I was just shocked when I heard how badly injured he was."

After helping the injured man, Mr Annis then sprinted to a nearby telephone box and raised the alarm with the emergency services.

Fire crews were called to Mr Farnell's home in Singleton Avenue just before 3.50am but the fire had already been extinguished.

He was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital's casualty department as paramedics gave first aid in the ambulance.

He was stabilised before then being transferred to a specialist burns unit at Withington Hospital, in South Manchester. An ambulance spokesman said Mr Farnell had received burns all the way round his torso from waist to neck.

He added: "He suffered full depth burns which are the worst kind."

Today a spokesman for Withington Hospital confirmed Mr Farnell had been admitted.

She added: "He has only just arrived in the burns unit of the hospital and doctors are currently reviewing his condition."

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