A family will be spending Christmas at their son's hospital bed after he suffered horrific burns when his car turned into a fireball as it smashed into a wall.

Philip Moran, 22, a junior weapons technician with the RAF stationed at RAF Leeming, was on his way home to Keighley for Christmas leave when the accident happened.

He lost control of the Peugeot 106 car which crashed into a wall near Bolton Percy, near York, on Thursday evening.

People living near to where the crash happened raced to help Mr Moran as he clambered out of the burning vehicle.

They doused him in water and put wet cloths on him, and, said his father, undoubtedly saved his life.

Mr Moran, who passed his driving test this summer, suffered 36 per cent burns to his legs, arm, chest and jaw. He also broke his jaw, arm, wrist, femur and ankle. His father Pat Moran, of Halifax Road, Keighley, said: "From what I can understand he must have come round a corner and for some reason he lost control of the car, or something went wrong with the car, and he hit a wall and the car burst into flames. He managed to get himself out."

Mr Moran praised the people living nearby who heard the crash and went out to help his son.

"They had a wet cloth and put it over him and poured water on him which was a fantastic thing to do. They got the emergency services on the scene. They saved his life."

He was initially taken to hospital in York, but was transferred to a specialist burns unit at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, on Friday where surgeons carried out ten-and-a-half hours of surgery on Saturday.

"They took all the skin away and put a plastic membrane on him," Mr Moran said.

"It's just a matter of getting this skin grafting going. They're fairly confident and said he was through the worst."

Mr Moran has been with the RAF for six years since leaving the Holy Family Catholic Secondary School in Keighley.

He provided cover during the firefighters strike, working as part of a specialist breathing unit in Newcastle.

Mr Moran, 50, said the family were now focusing on his son's recovery.

"We're doing all right with it. It's obviously very stressful for us but we are just hoping that he can pull through it. That's the main thing," he said.

Mr Moran said he wanted to thank friends who had offered their support, as well as the emergency services and medical teams.

"I would like to thank them all for their concern and their generosity towards him," he said.