Shocking images of a man in a sheep costume being set on fire have been released.
The CCTV pictures showed Sean Collins, 22, on flames at the Evoque nightclub in Preston after one of the venue’s bouncers, Thomas McGuiness, set him alight.
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) student had dressed up in a cotton wool ball costume to celebrate his friend’s 21st birthday.
‘I literally just burst into flames and I remember feeling shock and panic,’ he said.
‘I could feel this intense pain which I can’t even begin to describe.’
Mr McGuiness, 24, initially said he had started the fire accidentally while having a cigarette but CCTV footage proved he had deliberately held his lighter to Mr Collins’ costume on January 17.
The bouncer was jailed for 18 months on Thursday at Preston Crown Court.
Judge Michael Leeming, QC, reportedly murmured ‘horrific’ as he was shown CCTV footage of the incident.
Mr Collins suffered 12 per cent body surface area burns to both hands and forearms and was forced to miss two months of his university course. He also had to quit his job at McDonald’s.
The student from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, may need a further two years of treatment and has been left suffering anxiety and depression.
He added: ‘Looking back now, I know there’s a chance I could have burnt to death, but I wasn’t thinking that at the time, I just wanted to get the suit off me.’
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