A man went up in flames outside a Yorkshire bar at the weekend after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at his head from point-blank range.
Violence broke out following a brawl in Redcar on Saturday night as a high street pub disagreement escalated into the shocking attack.
Horrifying CCTV footage shows a man hurl the petrol bomb across the road at full force – which then transforms into an amber and white fireball.
The victim dives to the floor and begins to frantically roll around while another man quickly pulls off his shirt and a blonde woman runs away from the scene.
Cleveland Police say two men and a woman have been arrested in connection with the violence after the argument had broken out in the pub.
Three people were taken to hospital with injuries that were described as ‘serious but not life threatening’, including the man who was set alight.
Witnesses described the attack as ‘completely terrifying’ with one onlooker saying it had followed violence in Peggy June’s micropub in the centre of the seaside town.
They said: ‘There had been trouble inside the bar, a disagreement between two groups of men and that led to damage being caused inside the bar.
‘But what happened afterwards was completely terrifying, it’s very fortunate that no one was killed.
‘Some other people in the bar said they’d had flammable liquid squirted over them, but fortunately it was not ignited.
‘It wasn’t the fault of the owners, it’s not a pub that is known for trouble, it came as a massive shock to everyone.’
Peggy June’s owner Paul Jarvis – who named the bar after his baby daughter who died in 2017 – said he was ‘heartbroken’ by the incident.
Mr Jarvis said: ‘From the bottoms of our hearts we want to send our sincerest apologies to all that were affected at the incident in Peggy June’s last night.
‘It was unprovoked but also could not be avoided. At Peggy June’s we strive on giving all our customers the best experience, the events planned cost money, time and effort and are all put on free of charge so everyone can enjoy the best in their local town.
‘At Peggy June’s our ethos is for everyone who comes to have the best time and leave with the best memories.
‘My heart is broken to all of you that were affected or witnesses. Please feel free to drop me a message if you have any more information that could be useful.’
Redcar and Cleveland councillor Alex Brown said: ‘What happened in Redcar over the weekend was shocking, I have never seen anything like it in my home town.
‘If it could be worse, after speaking with the owners of Peggy June’s, you all know why the pub was called what it was. Heartbreaking.
‘I have been updated today by Cleveland Police, arrests have been made.
‘After speaking with the owners, should they wish to continue in business and I hope they do, I have offered the services of the council teams to clean the place up.
‘Yes, I know it’s a private business, but I don’t care, when something like this happens we all have a duty of care for our neighbours. I know many of you will be offering help also, when push comes to shove, we look after our own in Redcar.’
A spokesman for North East Ambulance Service added: ‘We were called to a person injured on Queen Street, Redcar shortly before 8.45pm on Saturday 15 February.
‘We dispatched a double crewed ambulance, a clinical team leader and were supported by a doctor from North East Immediate Care. One patient was taken to James Cook Hospital.’
Cleveland Police said: ‘We can confirm that a 33-year-old man has now been arrested in connection with the incident in Redcar which happened on Saturday night.
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