A MAN had to be taken to hospital after a high-powered firework exploded in his face.

Daniel Browning, 33, from Exeter Walk, Rochester, suffered severe cuts and burns when the device blew up.

One onlooker, who asked not be named, said: "We were just sitting in the house when we heard a bang and it was the loudest bang I have ever heard.

"By the time we realised what had happened he was covered in blood and said that he had dropped the firework and it just exploded.

"He looked very dazed and confused. His face was covered in cuts and was bleeding heavily and he couldn't hear what anyone was saying to him. The ambulance arrived quite quickly and took him away, but there was a lot of blood on the pavement."

Mr Browning was taken to Maidstone Hospital where he was treated for his injuries, but he was discharged shortly afterwards.