DONATIONS are pouring in for two cousins left fighting for their lives after an “explosion” outside a pub.
April Charlesworth was celebrating turning 28 with her cousin Ashleigh Charlesworth, 27, in the outdoor seating area at the King’s Head, in Great Cornard, when the blast happened.
The Colchester cousins were rushed to hospitals after sustaining serious burns.
April was taken West Suffolk Hospital before being put into an induced coma and transferred to London’s Queen Victoria Hospital.
Painful - April's injuries following the incident
She was put on a ventilator and woke up four days later with burns to her neck, hands and face.
She suffered burns to her face, chest and hands.
Ashleigh needed a skin graft on her hands, while doctors gave April donor skin while her own recovers.
Cousins - Ashleigh,27, and April, 28, Charlesworth
The full extent of their injuries is not yet known, but they both remain in hospital.
To support Ashleigh and April while they are off work recovering, friends and family members have launched fundraising pages for them.
More than £8,000 has been raised since the incident happened last Saturday.
Paul Charlesworth, Ashleigh’s dad, said she was a little embarrassed about her Go Fund Me page at first.
The 55-year-old said: “She is very thankful though, as she has just moved from Colchester to her own house in Sudbury and the funding has put her mind at ease.”
Emergency - April being rush to hospital
Mr Charlesworth was able to visit Ashleigh for the first time since the explosion.
“She was quite positive,” he added.
“Now she’s on the receiving end of being cared for by nurses, she thinks she will have a greater understanding when she is back working with patients in pain.”
April moved from Colchester to Sudbury four years ago with her son Franklin Avery, who is seven.
A statement on April’s fundraising page, by friend Lauren Ettritch, said: “After a long hard emotional week of being bed bound, April managed to get out of bed and take a few steps around the hospital corridor and was able to feed herself breakfast for the first time Wednesday morning.
“April’s burns will need to be reassessed in due course to see if there will need to be any further procedures such as skin grafts.”
To donate visit gf.me/u/zr2js2 or bit.ly/3aWNInx.
Suffolk Police’s inquiries are ongoing.
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