A FIREWORK that exploded in a woman’s face would have blinded her if she wasn’t wearing glasses, her mother claims.

Cathryn O’Nions must now undergo surgery for burns to her arms received when a fountain-style firework blew up in her face, setting her clothes on fire.

Relatives rushed to throw water over her and roll her on the grass at the bonfire party at the family home in Cegin Lane, Minera, near Wrexham, last Wednesday night.

She was initially taken to Wrexham Maelor Hospital but later transferred to the specialist Whiston Hospital in Merseyside.

Cathryn, 32, had returned to the lit firework to investigate why it hadn’t gone off.

Her mother Alison O’Nions said she was lucky not to have been blinded or killed.

Mrs O’Nions, a girl guides leader, said: “We were having a party for the guides in the village with a few fireworks and a bonfire.

“As Cathryn went to light a small fountain-style firework it just exploded in her face.

“Her coat caught on fire and the first thing we knew was my son-in-law shouting ‘she’s on fire, quick.’

“Everybody rushed over and started throwing water on her and rolling her in the grass. It was just horrendous.”

She added: “If she hadn’t been wearing her glasses, she would definitely have been left blind.

“When you look at her face now, she has a line across the top of her forehead where the cap came down to and the rest of her face is completely burnt.

“I don’t ever want to see another firework ever again.”

Fire service county operations manager for Wrexham, Ian Williams, said: “Fireworks and bonfires can be very dangerous – this is why we have been appealing to residents only to attend organised, professional events.

“The woman was lucky not to have come off a lot worse, it is important that people follow the instructions carefully and be cautious around fireworks.”