Man, 25, issues Bonfire Night warning after losing eye to firework as rocket exploded in his face

A MAN has issued a heartfelt Bonfire Night warning after his eyeball was “split in two” when a firework exploded in his face.

Antony Barry, 25, bravely stepped into to save a group of young kids from the unexploded pyrotechnic – before it exploded in his face like a “bomb”.

One year on, he opened up about his struggle to adapt to life with just one eye – and warned parents to be careful when setting fireworks up around kids.

He told : ” I went to move it after it fell back down because there were children around and I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to them.

“I remember going back to the firework, going to move it and then like an explosion.

“It was like a bomb. I was just sat on the ground and couldn’t see anything out of one eye and I was in so much pain.”

The horrific accident took place on Bonfire night last year, when Antony was setting up fireworks with his girlfriend in Cardiff.

But one rocket – called the flying pig – blew up in his face when he tried to move it away from a group of kids.

Doctors at Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales told him he could have been killed had the blast been two inches higher.

He added: “When we got to hospital I was rushed through to A&E and then had a two-and-a-half hour operation, after which I found out they had to remove my eye, they couldn’t save it.

“The back of my eyeball had split in the explosion which meant when they operated on me it just wasn’t possible to keep my eye.”

“Just make sure they are safe and check them. Just don’t go back to them because you don’t know what they will do.

“There’s a lot of kids out there who enjoy fireworks, so I can’t say ban them. I’m not against them, just be careful.

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