AN ALLOA Gulf War veteran who was left screaming in agony when molten glass poured on to his body has been handed a six-figure payout by O-I Manufacturing.

Liam McLaughlin, of Lewis Court, was on a routine night shift when glass heated to around 500C spilled from the production line onto his body and burst into flames.

The 37-year-old, screaming in pain, used a floor-cleaning hose to douse the flames before climbing into a washroom sink and running cold water over a badly burned leg.

It took 10 minutes before fellow workers found him badly shocked and unconcious and came to his aid.

He settled with O-I Manufacturing out of court but still tells of the trauma of seeing his own body going up in flames.

He was forced to move out of his family home so us not to wake his young daughter and partner when waking up screaming in the night.

Mr McLaughlin said: “I still have nightmares and terrible flash-backs. I see myself being totally engulfed in flames. It’s been so bad I have had to stop living with my partner

Laura Alexander, 26, and our three-year-old daughter Katie.

“I couldn’t bear Katie coming into the room and finding me cowering in the corner crying and shaking like a leaf after a nightmare. So now I am living with Laura’s mother till my sleep patterns return to normal.

“I will never forget the shock and then the pain when I looked down and saw the overalls I thought were fireproof bursting into flames.

“I saw a lot of terrible things when I was serving with the Royal Signals in the first Gulf War, but nothing prepared me for this.

“However, the fact that the case is now settled is a huge weight off my mind and I have had my first good night’s sleep since it all happened two and a half years ago”.

His lawyer Jayne Crawford, of Thompsons Solicitors, has criticised the firm, who now run  the former United Glass plant, saying: “The company was not correct in trying to argue that Mr McLaughlin was partly to blame for his terrible accident, and then refusing to settle till the 11th hour.

“They knew that he is still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but their stalling tactics meant he had to keep reliving the accident in his mind in preparation for giving evidence in court.

“There’s also a question mark over the supposedly fireproof overalls they supplied Mr McLaugh-lin. In this instance  they were anything but and that was why they caught fire and caused his injuries.

“His physical in-juries are healing well, but his ordeal and the post-traumatic stress have left him a changed man, and have had a major impact on his family life.”