Whenever there’s fireworks, it seems there’s a non-zero chance that some moron will stick one up his bum – here are some of the intrepid idiots who performed the stunt, and suffered the consequences
Christmas and pulling a cracker, Halloween and trick-or-treating, Easter and hunting for eggs – every festivity comes with its own special traditions.
But perhaps none are quite so moronic, and as dangerous, as the grand old tradition of sticking a flare up your bum on Bonfire Night, just as Guy Fawkes himself intended.
Obviously, we’re not being serious – although for some people the idea of putting a highly explosive object between their cheeks is more than just a punchline. And so, as long as you’re not encouraged to actually do it yourself, here are some of the brave and very, very stupid people who have offered their bottom halves as launch platforms.
2002: A Space Odd-arsey
Historians generally agree that the act of placing a firework in your bum and lighting it began in 2002, with the launch of the film Jackass: The Movie.
In the bonkers flick, Steve-O performs the stunt, placing a lit firework between his buttocks while lying on his back – naming the challenge ‘Backdoor Fireworks’.
Steve-O and the rest of the team were unharmed by the incident, and the legendary prankster and walking health and safety nightmare would go on to admit that it was one of the scenes he was most ‘proud’ of. What he couldn’t have known is that Backdoor Fireworks would ignite a fuse in the morons of the world to perform copycat feats, some of which would go on to cause horrific (and not entirely unsurprising) injuries.
Sunderland Soldier blows bits of his bum off
In 2006, a soldier from Sunderland would, in attempt to copy the film, suffer serious injuries to his backside after performing the same stunt.
22-year-old Dan Tilley is reported to have got down on all fours, pulled his trousers down and fixed a Black Cat Thunderbolt rocket to himself in front of a group of friends at the end of a firework display in the Monkwearmouth area of Sunderland.
Footage shows an explosion followed by muffled laughter, although the truth was far from funny.
Tilley, who had just returned from a tour of Iraq, had suffered a scorched colon and a series of grim internal injuries. He admitted at the time he was lucky to survive.
Speaking from hospital at the time, he said: “I can’t believe I did something so stupid. The doctor has told me it could have killed me.
“I bent over, put the rocket between my cheeks and tried to light it, but couldn’t reach. Someone else must have done it. The next thing I can remember is the massive bang.
“As the pain hit me, I remember this strong smell of burning. I thought it was the rocket, but it turns out it was my bum on fire. I started to feel dizzy and I heard people calling an ambulance. Then I collapsed on all fours with my pants down and my bum in the air.
“When the ambulance arrived, they managed to avoid laughing. They were really concerned and very professional. I feel a real prize pratt, to tell you the truth. I’m a grown man. I shouldn’t be going around shooting fireworks out of my backside.”
Down under
In some sort of strange Ashes equivalent, the good people of Australia clearly decided they wanted in on the firework bottom firing, and that they could do it better.
There are genuinely dozens of tales from down under of Aussies sticking pyrotechnics in their cheeks and lighting, although none as famous as Alex Bowden, who became a national celebrity for all the wrong reasons back in 2012.
Hailing from near the city of Darwin, the 23-year-old spent days in hospital and even was subject to a police investigation after using an illegal firework to perform the stunt.
Bowden saw his face plastered on several newspaper front pages, although dodged the $282 fine for owning illegal pyros as, according to the police, “he had suffered enough”.
Flare up
Perhaps the most iconic pyrotechnic up the bottom moment is the infamous England footie fan who stuck a flare where the sun don’t shine back in 2021
During chaotic pre-match celebrations in London’s Leicester Square ahead of the England vs. Italy Euro 2021 final, 25-year-old Charlie Perry was filmed drinking heavily, snorting cocaine, and placing a lit flare between his bare buttocks before storming Wembley Stadium without a ticket.
Speaking to the Sun he explained he had performed the stunt in the hope of bringing “England fans together.”
He said: “It was the biggest day in English football for 55 years. There were thousands of fans in Leicester Square, the atmosphere was amazing.
“Everyone was fooling around, there was a bit of a competition to do stuff so I just thought I’d put the flare up my bum. It was the biggest day of my life apart from Chelsea versus Man City in the Champions League.”
“The flare burnt for about ten seconds or so around the cheeks, I didn’t feel a thing because I was highly intoxicated. No one dared me to do it. It was a very irresponsible thing to do.”
When asked if he regretted it, he replied: “Nah, no way. I’m not saying sorry.”
The photo became an iconic image of England fan culture, and even sparked an award winning play titled: Why I Stuck A Flare Up My Arse For England.
Up the Brum
in 2025 an unnamed man from Birmingham became the next man to go viral for, you guessed it, injuring himself by sticking a firework between his bum cheeks back.
Footage shows the moron laughing with pals in the middle of a street before lighting the rocket, at which point one of the lads admits he is “going to p**s myself”
Rather than taking off, it explodes inside the man’s cheeks, causing a burst of bright white light and a series of gasps.
The bloke can then be seen dropping his trousers to reveal a bad burn on his bottom, with one of his sheepish pals saying: “”It’s burnt the f*** out of your a***, bruv”.