Two eight-year-old children are in hospital with severe burns after a bottle of paint thinner ignited on a building site in a North Yorkshire village.

The accident happened in Hunsingore, near Wetherby, at about noon yesterday when four children came across the paint thinner while playing on a building site.

Villager Barry Richards told the Evening Press that his grandchildren, James and Oliver Richards, who are twins, were two of those involved.

He said the children had found some matches in a skip on the site and this led to the explosion of the paint thinner.

Mr Richards said his grandson, James, was one of the two seriously injured children, while Oliver had been luckier and had been only singed.

A spokesman for Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service said that an eight-year-old girl had 40 per cent burns to her face and waist and that the eight-year-old boy, believed to be James Richards, had 35 per cent burns to his face and hands.

They are both in Pinderfields Hospital, in Wakefield, which has a specialist burns unit.

A 13-year-old boy - older brother to the injured girl - was also involved and had eight to ten per cent burns to the hands and face and was taken to Harrogate District Hospital, but later released.

Mr Richards said he believed his grandson and the girl had temporarily been on fire, which had resulted in the serious injuries.

All the children ran from the site to Back Lane in the village where Mr Richards lives, though the flames had gone out by the time they arrived there.

"They are very lucky, it could have been far worse," Mr Richards said.

"It's such a shock. I just hope they're all right because I'm really worried about James's hands.

"I think the fire burnt out on them. The policewoman said that when you dash about, it just makes it worse."

The Health and Safety Executive is investigating the incident.

Updated: 10:50 Monday, May 21, 2001