Dramatic footage as man sets himself on fire in the street

Police desperately fought to put out flames on a man after he set himself on fire in the street yesterday.

Video shared on X by London & UK Street News shows a man in a high visibility waistcoat spraying the man, who is engulfed in flames and standing with his arms up, with a fire extinguisher, in Islington, north London.

Screams of "oh my God" can be heard from onlookers as police arrive and try to put out the flames by beating him with a coat.

A man is also heard to repeatedly call "get water, get water."

Another officer uses a smaller extinguisher and members of the public bring containers of water to throw on him.

The events unfolded after police were called to a domestic incident.

Remarkably, the man who was on fire suffered only minor injuries.

A Met Police spokesman said: "Police were called at approximately 9:25am on Friday, 13 December to reports of a domestic disturbance at an address in North Road, N7.

"Officers attended and found a man in the street who then set himself alight. Officers, along with members of the public put the flames out. The London Ambulance Service and London Fire brigade also attended the scene.

"The man was taken to hospital, his condition is not life threatening or life changing . His next of kin are aware.

"An officer was also treated at hospital for minor burns and has since been discharged.

"The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed.

"Due to police being in attendance when the man sustained his injuries, a mandatory referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct."

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 9.44am on Friday, 13 December, to reports of an incident in North Road, Islington. “We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, an incident response officer, and London’s air ambulance. “We treated two people before taking them to hospital.”