Aberdeen City Council blamed for boy flame horror

Gran of burns victim hits out at council.

The gran of a seven-year-old boy left fighting for his life after being engulfed by flames has blamed Aberdeen City Council for the horrific accident.

Preston Flores, from Aberdeen, suffered severe burns after petrol was allegedly taken from an unattended council vehicle near where he played with his two cousins, aged six and nine.

Preston’s grandmother Mary Flores said: “He was playing with his two cousins everybody thinks they are getting the blame for it, but they aren’t.

“It is the council who are to blame.

“If it wasn’t for the van being unlocked, this would not have happened. The workmen were not even in the van.

“I blame the council for leaving it unattended. If they’d even locked the van or closed the door it would not have happened.

“The children were just playing like normal kids it was a beautiful day. They were there one minute, then the next Preston came around the corner like that.

“He is critical and they have had to open up his side and arm to release some of the pressure.

“He is having major surgery on Monday for the burns. His parents are with him at the hospital in Edinburgh.”

Neighbours saw Preston, who lives with his parents and four siblings in the city’s Bedford Avenue area, covered in flames. They poured water on him to put out the blaze.

Police investigating the incident, which happened on Friday afternoon at about 2pm, say they are following positive lines of inquiry but there is no evidence so far of any deliberate act.

The youngster was initially taken to the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital before being transferred to Edinburgh.

His cousin Carol Stott saw the children minutes before the incident and said that she had warned them to keep away from the van.

She said: “I was on the street with them and they jumped in the van to have a nosey.

“I said to them to get out of the van. They were playing with the dogs in the garden and having a good time.

“I said to them not to go back to the van then went round the corner to my daughters.

“I came back and saw Preston with all his burnt clothes sticking to his skin.

“I went up to the van and there was a liquid that smelled like petrol and the lid had been tampered with.

“It was a nice day and the sun was shining, then within minutes this tragedy happens. Everyone is devastated.

“In the space of five minutes it has ruined a child’s life it’s unbelievable.

“Preston is just a joyful little boy who plays with his cousins. Everybody knows him.”

A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said: “We are assisting police with their inquiries and our thoughts are with the family of the boy.”