A pub worker burned when a gas fire exploded at a picnic is keen to contact quick-thinking youngsters who ran to her aid.

Melody Wood, 29, who is an assistant manager at Flanagan's, is full of praise for a helpful group of teens who were playing nearby at Clearwater Beach when disaster struck.

She said a butane gas bottle heating water began to flame and then the whole thing went up burning her and her father-in-law on the face, neck and arms.

She said: "It hurt like hell. The firemen said the heat went up to about 1,800 degrees when it exploded. We were two foot away."

She said the rest of the family had been right by the bottle two minutes earlier and could have been hurt a lot worse.

A group of youngsters who had been playing all day nearby came to their aid and took charge, said Ms Wood.

"One boy asked me if there was something he could do to help and I said 'you can hold my hand'. He was talking to me, giving me words of comfort and took me to the sea.

"It was pitch black, I had to put my head under and I could not have done it without him there, he stood there and held my hand very tightly and told me not to worry while I cooled myself down."

She said others helped her father-in-law and the rest of her party pack stuff away and advised they head straight to Clearwater Fire Station for immediate assistance.

The accident is still being investigated said Ms Wood, who is still off work following her accident on July 19, is keen for the youngsters who helped to get in touch with her by calling 236-5845 so she can thank them personally.

She said: "Without their help it could have been very different."