Teenager loses eye after unexploded firework explodes

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 29 Oct, 21:26 · Archive

A 17-year-old lost his left eye after an unexploded firework detonated as he checked it during Bonfire Night celebrations in November 2024.

Aleks Stasiukiewicz, 17, lost his left eye and part of his eyelid after an unexploded firework detonated as he checked it during Bonfire Night celebrations in Hartlepool, County Durham, in November 2024. He had been with friends in a park after visiting an organised firework display at a rugby club.

The blast knocked him to the ground. Friends called 999 and his mother Julie rushed to the scene, arriving to find him already in an ambulance. She said: 'I didn't take my eyes off him; I was devastated. I had to watch as his eye leaked down the side of his face.' At James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, doctors confirmed the loss of his left eye and part of his eyelid. He also suffered minor burns to his arm and leg and broke a front tooth. Specialist surgeons removed fragments of firework residue from his eye socket and inserted a ball-shaped prosthesis to replicate eye movement.

Two years on, Aleks is now working with University Hospitals Tees to raise awareness of firework safety. He said: 'When people say don't play with fireworks, listen. I know it can be tempting to break the rules and have a bit of fun but fireworks are incredibly dangerous. They are not something you should mess around with as they can cause serious, life-changing injuries.'

How it is being reported

• Teenager, 17, lost eye after ‘dud’ firework exploded in his face on Bonfire NightAleks Stasiukiewicz lost his eye on Bonfire Night last year (Picture: SWNS) The mum of a teenage boy who lost his sight when a firework exploded in his face has told of the horrific moment she watched as his eye ‘leaked down his face’. Aleks Stasiukiewicz, 17, suffered life-changing injuries and…Metro · 29 Oct, 21:13
• 'I watched his eye leak down his face' - teen says 'listen' in firework plea17-year-old Aleks Stasiukiewicz lost his left eye after going to check an unlit firework - now he is warning it's not worth 'breaking the rules for a bit of fun'The Mirror · 29 Oct, 13:31

In this story: Aleks Stasiukiewicz · Julie · Hartlepool · James Cook University Hospital · Middlesbrough · University Hospitals Tees

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