Guilty plea after firework accident
The owner of a fireworks company has pleaded guilty to health and safety violations and fraud after an employee was blinded in one eye by a display gone awry.
Chris Hignell, of Hatherley, Yate, was injured in 2008 after lighting a mortar-type rocket that went off without a planned time delay, Bristol Crown Court heard.
He said: "It was indescribable pain. My hair was on fire. It was torture. I thought I might die in the ambulance."
He subsequently attended hospital 83 times for facial reconstruction surgery.
The court heard that company owner Jason Edgecombe, of Northcote Road, Mangotsfield, had only been able to stage the event by forging a public liability insurance certificate.
Edgecombe was granted unconditional bail. He will be sentenced in August.