West Mercia officer speaks up about being engulfed in flames during football disorder

5 January 2024

A West Mercia Police officer has spoken of the moment he was engulfed in flames after being hit by a flare during serious public disorder outside a European club football match.

PC Andy Forbes said he was “eternally grateful” not to receive lasting injuries after describing how he “went off like a crackerjack” during the incident near Villa Park.

Andy was one of a number of officers from West Mercia Police and other forces supporting their West Midlands Police colleagues at the game between Aston Villa and Legia Warsaw in November.

He said he had been clearing bricks, bottles, and debris from where the officers were positioned when he was hit by a traffic sign.

West Mercia PC Andy Forbes.

“Within a minute or so of that, a flare came in and landed on me,” he said.

“At that stage, I was aware of a bright pink intense light around my upper chest.

“The noise was like a high-octane burning sound; it was getting brighter and pinker.

“I’d got my shield in one hand and I was patting my chest thinking I’ve got to do something about this.

“I was actually quite calm. I was just thinking there’s something wrong here, you’ve got to do something about it, what are you going to do?

“I remember it as a Roman candle effect and these little orange flickers coming off it. I was going off like a crackerjack.

“It was getting brighter and more intense.

“I was joined by six colleagues from the West Midlands Police who were patting me to try to put out the flames.

“I was thrown to the floor and I fought to put the flames out. It was the old stop, drop and roll.

“I was on my front and I was saying to my colleagues ‘is it out, get it out’.

“The whole incident probably lasted 15 to 20 seconds and then I was aware that I had this smell, like when you chuck a bucket of water on a fire and it’s gone out.

Part of PC Andy Forbes uniform after the incident.

“The relief and the adrenalin dump I got was unbelievable.”

An experienced officer with 18 years of public order policing, Andy said it was one of the most violent situations he’d policed.

“It was like a scene out of a film, certainly like nothing I’d seen before,” he said.

Andy spent the night on the burns unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where he was treated for minor burns, and smoke and heat inhalation.

“It’s nothing lasting, for which I’m eternally grateful for,” he said. “It could have been very different.”

Now he’s back on the Force, and also supporting colleagues as a Federation rep, a position he’s held for almost three years.

“I wanted to become a rep because I had guidance from people who were at my level of service when I started and there comes a time in your service to pass on that guidance to newer officers,” he said.

“I really enjoy it. You’re able to assist your colleagues at times when they need you most, and make sure that people get treated fairly and that processes are followed.”

West Mercia Police Federation chair Barry Horton said: “The violence that officers faced that night was unacceptable.

“At the end of the day, they’re men and women, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, and they shouldn’t have to face violence or the threat of violence just for doing their jobs.

“As a Federation, we’ve offered our support to members who were policing that night and continue to do so.”

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