A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy from Dromore was rushed to hospital by ambulance on Friday night after a firework, thrown by a teenager, hit him in the face and left him requiring four stitches.

Calum Hunter’s mother, Tina says her son is “lucky he didn’t lose his eye” after the firework was thrown in his direction as he enjoyed a bonfire at Fairview Park in Dromore with his family.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter this week the mother from Meadowcroft recalled the moment her son screamed in pain as the ‘squealer’ hit him just above his left eye.

“I put my hands over his face but I could see the blood pumping through my fingers,” she said.

She says she is angry that the young boys responsible for her son’s injury have not had the “guts” to come forward and apologise.

“What would have happened if he had lost his eye or it had taken half his face off, just because of their stupid carelessness?” she asked, “They need to take responsibility for their stupid actions.” A pupil at Tummery Primary School in Dromore, Calum had been looking forward to Hallowe’en for weeks.

“But he knows that fireworks are dangerous,” said his mum, “We were at the doctor’s on Friday morning for asthma clinic and there was a poster up in the waiting room about illegal fireworks.

“He told me: ‘Mummy, fireworks are very dangerous’. I said: ‘Yes, they are.” The P4 pupil had dressed up as a vampire on Hallowe’en night and gone out trick or treating before attending the bonfire with his family later that evening.

“There was a crowd of young lads throwing fireworks about,” Tina recalled, “We were about 25 feet away from them but we could see that it was starting to get messy -- they were lighting them and if they dropped them they would still pick them up and throw them at the bonfire.” Tina told Calum and his friend, Nathan, to move back.

“One went off and it went straight for Calum -- I didn’t really have time to react, it happened so fast.

“He immediately put his two hands up to his face and screamed. I picked him up in my arms and all the kids there started screaming too -- they were all scared.” A lady from Fairview, Jackie Sheridan rushed over to Tina and Calum and invited them into her home to check that he was okay.

“I had my hand over his face but I could see the blood pumping through my fingers,” aid Tina, “I was terrified to take my hand away and see what had happened.” Tina’s husband phoned for an ambulance.

“The the top of his eyelid was completely open,” she explained, “He had gone very pale and was very quiet -- it was the shock.” Calum was taken to hospital by ambulance.

It was only on Tuesday this week that he was able to open his eye again.

Concerned that no permanent damage has been caused to her son’s eye, Tina says she is taking Calum to the opticians as soon as the stitches are removed.

“At the hospital they said the pupil as reacting to light okay and they checked inside the eye to make sure it wasn’t burnt.

“They said thank God it wasn’t a Black Cat firework -- it would have exploded in his face.

“The ambulance man told us the Squealer would have lost most of its velocity by the time it reached Calum. But if we had been standing any closer it would have been nasty altogether.” Doctors told Tina that her son would now be left with a scar above his eye.

“Calum was terrified, but he was very brave -- a lot braver than I would have been in the circumstances.

“But we went to Dublin on Saturday to see my sister. When we got to her park there were fireworks going off -- he didn’t want to get out of the car.” The mother didn’t report the incident to police.

“I wanted to report it but there was no point.

“When the firework hit Calum all the boys ran off.

“They watched it head towards the crowds, heard the screaming and they ran.

“I have always made an effort on Hallowe’en for the children, to make it fun for them -- but this has really put me off now.

“Calum’s brother is a year-and-a-half older than him and he was absolutely beside himself with fear.

“He came back home when we went to the hospital with Calum and he wouldn’t go to bed until we came home at 2am.

“He rang me in the hospital crying down the phone asking me to tell him that Calum was okay. He asked if Calum still had his eye. He was worried sick for him.

“He is lucky he didn’t have to get surgery -- it could have been a whole lot worse.”