Teenager who lost his eye when he went back to relight a failed firework warns others as hospital admissions rise

Aleks Stasiukiewicz, 17, of Hartlepool, was left without his left eye and with part of his eyelid gone after he went back to relight a firework that had not ignited at a park near a rugby club display in November 2024. NHS England figures show hospital admissions for fireworks injuries jumped from 60 to 85 last November alone, with full-year 2025 admissions reaching 161, up from 120 the year before.

At James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, surgeons removed firework fragments and fitted Aleks with a prosthetic eye.

Riley Luke, 12, of Paisley, suffered a similar injury at the age of eight, losing four fingers and much of his palm when a firework he had found exploded in his hand.

NHS medical director Professor Frankie Swords warned that children are often 'paying the price' when Bonfire Night goes wrong.