Exclusive
LUCKY ESCAPE
Shocking moment dad and son, 3, almost hit by flying firework stick as they watched New Year display
THIS is the shocking moment a dad and his three-year-old son narrowly escaped being hit by flying debris from a firework as they watched the light display to ring in the New Year.
Sandun Lewke Bandara, 34, heard the fireworks rocketing into the sky just a few minutes before midnight - grabbing his son Kevin from his bed so the little boy could enjoy the show.
7
7
7
But the pair came just seconds away from being hit by a 1m long stick from the fireworks after it came flying through the air.
Footage from the family's doorbell camera shows the son and dad standing outside their Harrow home as the fireworks explode in the sky.
Sandun is then seen carrying his little boy out into the garden a little further - before a stick suddenly ploughs into the ground where they had been standing just moments before.
Shocked Sandun told The Sun Online: "My son was sleeping but I woke him up to show him the fireworks - he was going to wake up anyway with the noise.
"We opened the door but luckily I moved a bit further to get a proper view when I heard a sound like something banging on the floor.
"I turned and there was a stick - it was quite big."
Sandun said the wooden pole had sunk quite deep into the ground - with what had happened only sinking in when he checked the family's doorbell footage and seeing how close they had come.
The Sony PlayStation software engineer said: "I tried to pick it up and I realised it was quite deep in the ground."
He said little Kevin - who only just celebrated his third birthday on Christmas Eve - had loved the fireworks display that was let off by members of the public.
But he said after the incident they decided to go back inside to watch through the window.
7
7
7
7
Sandun said: "I looked at the video and thought 'OK, it's not going to be a bad year'."
Strict Covid rules meant there could be none of the usual New Year's Eve celebrations.
Pubs and restaurants were shut across the nation as 20million people went into Tier 4, meaning no mixing is allowed outside of household or support bubbles.
Publicans across the country have been forced to tip kegs full of beer down the drain, as almost all pubs in the UK were closed.
But while there were not as many firework celebrations, Brits still managed to let off a few blasts to ring in 2021.
Most read in News
And cops have slammed those who headed out to party - breaking the rules put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Crowds gathered along London's Southbank as well as in Kensington, West London, Nottingham and Leeds despite the NHS being left overwhelmed by patients with one doctor warning those who didn't wear a mask had "blood on their hands".
Selfish flouters headed to parties despite coronavirus still ripping across the country with more than 55,000 cases recorded in just one day yesterday.