A teenage boy has described the moment he had both of his hands blown off by a home-made bomb given to him by a bully who had disguised it as a golf ball.
Michael Boggan, 15 – who is autistic - said he was with other boys at in a friend's garden in Leichardt, near Ipswich, Brisbane, Australian, when one offered him the device.
After apparently joking that it was full of heroin, one of the youths offered to give the ball to Michael in exchange for a cigarette.
He told the Herald Sun newspaper that he rolled a cigarette and handed it to the boy and then he played with the ball for a moment before hearing a massive 'boom'.
"I was shaking it up a little bit. I didn't know it would blow up," he said.
"I couldn't see for two seconds, and I couldn't hear for two seconds.
"And then I looked at my hands and I was like 'tell me this is a dream, please tell me this is a dream'."
He described seeing skin hanging from his arms. After emergency surgery he now has only a little finger on his left hand, and a thumb on his right, while doctors are continuing to try to save and pin his index and middle finger, according to his mother Rebecca.
She said he also had shrapnel wounds all over his body.
"He's got holes in his legs, right down to his bones, from the ball bearings. He's got shrapnel wounds on his arms," she said.
Michael's mother and stepfather, Michael Clifton, as well as the mayor of Ipswich, have demanded that the 17-year-old 'bully' who allegedly gave Michael the device should face the consequences of his actions.
Three other teens, aged between 15 and 18, were also taken to hospital. Michael said he thought that the main other boy involved may not have known that the device was explosive. He also believed that all others present were innocent.
Police investigations are ongoing but inspector Keith McDonald said those believed to be involved had not been forthcoming in providing information about what happened.