Teenagers Are Burning Themselves In Dangerous New Social Media Craze

Baby oil and nail polish remover are used

A NEW social media craze where young people deliberately set themselves on fire for attention has claimedi ts first serious injury in Britain.
Oliver Sharp, 11, suffered severe burns when he was dared on Saturday night. He was alone in his bedroom when he set his T-shirt alight.
Sharp, from Lincolnshire, now requires skin grafts to his back as part of the trend to get attention on social media websites.

The “fire challenge” shows people, mostly teens, filming themselves pouring baby oil, nail polish remover and other flammable liquids over their bodies before taking a light to the doused area and watching it go up in flames.

The next step is to put the fire out as quickly as possible by jumping into a bath or pool of water.
Thousands of videos of have been uploaded on YouTube and Facebook of people attempting the challenge, showing individuals engulfed by flames while onlookers scream in the background.

The trend took off in America, where a boy of 15 was reported to have burned to death last year after his entire body was engulfed in flames.

Now Sharp's attempt is its first serious injury in Britain.

His mother, Sarah, said that her daughter, Lacey, alerted her that Oliver was on fire.
She said: “I ran downstairs and started smacking his T-shirt to put it out. He said that he lit his shirt once and managed to put it out, but when he lit the burnt area again his shirt just went up in flames.
“I haven’t registered what has happened yet. I have just been laid at his bedside cuddling him. I don’t think what has happened will hit me until he has his operation.
 “He is never in trouble. He is a brilliant little boy and I thought he had the brains not to do something like this."

Emergency crews are warning parents to ensure that young people are made aware of the dangers of the “challenge”.