A FAMILY from Hardwicke have told of their lucky escape after their boat exploded.

Wayne and Janeen McCormick were on board the 15ft cabin cruiser on the River Avon at Eckington, near Tewkesbury, when it burst into flames.

Their children, who were on the bank at the time, had to run for their lives but escaped unhurt.

Wayne's head was singed and Janeen's eyebrow and hair was burnt in the blaze.

Wayne, 41, of Dimore Close, said: "We were so lucky our children were outside, if anybody had been in the cabin they would have been blown to pieces.

"Just a minute before the children were in there, we were just so incredibly lucky.

"Me, my wife, two kids and my mum just went for an ordinary day out. The boat has been moored at Eckington for a few years and we got to the boat and the kids went down into the cabin.

"I asked them to get off the boat on to the decking so we could get ready to go and I started revving the engine and then there was just this almighty explosion."

When the fire broke out, at about 2pm on Sunday, Wayne's mum Wendy was with their daughter Kier , nine and son Luka , eight, on the side.

Wayne, a taxi driver in Gloucester, and his wife,37, were stranded on the boat.

He said: "The boat is fibreglass so it was not flickering flames or anything, it just went.

"I was on the other side to the engine when it exploded. It blew me across the boat and my wife was on the back and it took her about three or four foot in the air and the boat collapsed back on her.

"We didn't really know what was happening, it happened so quickly."

Wayne leapt to the bank with his hair on fire, shouting to his children to get away while Janeen also had to jump to safety.

It was thought a fuel line fault caused a petrol leak, fumes built up and ignited when the engine started.

"Apparently people about quarter of a mile away heard the explosion," he said.

"People were shouting to me to get off the boat and turn off the gas. I just didn't know what was happening I just shouted and kept repeating myself.

"My wife lost an eyebrow and some hair and my head was completely singed, there was a terrible smell.

"Because I was in it I didn't know what it looked like but apparently flames just came out of everywhere."

The family drove to Tewkesbury Hospital to get checked over but none was found to have received serious injuries.

Wayne thanked other boat owners and passers-by for helping them.

"Everyone came to help. They wrapped us in towels and were pouring water over us to help," he said.

"Everybody that helped was amazing, I couldn't have expected more from my own family.

"They have now become some of the most amazing friends to us, they did everything they could."