A WELL-known councillor who suffered horrifying burns in a bonfire accident earlier this year will run the Worcester City 10K in aid of the charity which helped save his life.

Cllr Tom Wells suffered 35 per cent burns and spent four weeks in intensive care after a garden bonfire set him alight in April.

Just four months later, the Malvern Hills district and Worcestershire county councillor is preparing to run the 10K on Sunday to raise money for the Midlands Air Ambulance, which flew him to hospital after the accident.

“April 7 (the day of the accident) was an ordinary kind of a day,” said Cllr Wells. “That is until in a split second my world suddenly changed.”

Cllr Wells was flown from his home in Callow End, near Worcester, to the burns unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where he received life-saving treatment.

Three operations and more than a month in hospital later, he returned home and began the long road to full recovery.

For a while he relied on a walking frame to get around, but then - very slowly - he began to walk independently again.

“Each day I would get a little further on the footpath to the rear of our garden. Then, one day I tried a little jog for a few strides," he said.

“That was it - that was the moment I decided to support the air ambulance by taking part in the Worcester 10K. It’s my way of saying thank you. We never know when we might need the air ambulance. Its mere existence depends on charitable donations such as this.”

So far, Cllr Wells has raised a tremendous £600 via his Justgiving page but is still collecting donations.

The Worcester City 10K events take place on Sunday and thousands of runners will take part, including athletics star Jenny Meadows.

To make a donation visit justgiving.com/fundraising/K-WELLS.