A nine-year-old boy in Thailand survived after a cherry bomb firecracker exploded in his face during a New Year’s Day party.

Korn Sornduang was excited to use the explosives – the size of ping-pong balls – which were bought from a shop near his family home in Surat Thani province on January 1.

He lit two balls at a time but when he reached the last piece, the hapless boy failed to throw it away quickly enough.

The cherry bomb, along with the last ball of firecrackers, exploded about six inches away from his face. His skin was burned and his eyes were injured.

The little boy was rushed to the hospital to treat his burns while medics battled to save his eyesight.

His eyes had to be given artificial tear drops to prevent dryness every hour.

An eye specialist has also checked on the boy to make sure that he will be able to see again.

His mother, Uraiwan Sornduang, 34, said she would have stopped her son from buying firecrackers if she knew it would happen.

She said: ‘He bought seven ping-pong ball firecrackers but as he lit the last two, he didn’t get away from them in time.’

Provincial Governor Witchawut Jinto reminded the parents to prevent their children from playing with dangerous fireworks.

He said: ‘Do not to let your children play with firecrackers during festivals for their safety. They may not understand how dangerous these are.’