Man badly burned

A man in his mid-20s was being treated in hospital last night after setting himself alight in a shopping centre in north Dublin…

A man in his mid-20s was being treated in hospital last night after setting himself alight in a shopping centre in north Dublin.

The man entered the Artaine Castle shopping centre at about 3.30pm yesterday. Some minutes later he knelt down, blessed himself, kissed the floor and poured white spirit over his body before setting it alight with a match or a lighter.

Pursued by security staff, and burning severely, he ran around the centre for a short time before being trapped. Security staff used two fire extinguishers to put out the flames.

Staff alerted the emergency services and the man was brought by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital. He was later transferred to the burns unit at St James's. He suffered 90 per cent burns and was in a critical condition last night.