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An eight-year-old boy who was nearly blinded after a firework exploded near him and his friend is now back home after being discharged from hospital.

Rhydian Guzvic’s son, Bradley, was walking with his nine-year-old friend on Hengoed Road on Sunday October 1 when the firework was allegedly thrown at the pair by a group of teens.

According to a family member, posting on Facebook, the second boy, aged nine has had to have an operation on his hand.

He remains in hospital in Bristol and is in a stable condition, police have said.

Speaking to BBC Wales, Mr Guzvic said: “One of the neighbours looked over the fence and saw Bradley trying to wake up his friend because they both got knocked unconscious.

“They picked them up, brought them back to Bradley’s mother’s house and that’s when they realised the extent of what had gone on.

“He’s had CT scans, they’ve found shrapnel in his wounds across his head and some close to his eye.

“It was quite scary for everybody involved.”

“A lot of speculation”

Superintendent Mike Richards, of Gwent Police, said officers have spoken to “several people” as part of its ongoing enquiries.

He said: “We’re hopeful that within the next few days we will have spoken to both boys, ensuring that they are both ready to speak to our officers and with the full support and co-operation of their families.

“There has been a substantial amount of information passed onto us by the community and we’re grateful to everyone who has got in touch with us so far with information to assist.”

However, Supt Richards said police had “looked into these details and have found that some of the information provided to us has proved to be inaccurate”.

He continued: “There is a lot of speculation about what has happened, so we’re asking people to refrain from commenting about these matters on social media as some of these comments are proving unhelpful and placing innocent members of our communities, including children and young people, at risk of harm.

“Our aim is to understand what has happened in Hengoed, which has sadly resulted in two boys receiving significant injuries as well as a great deal of emotional pain for their families and friends.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Gwent Police on 101, or through direct message on Facebook or Twitter, quoting reference 2300332856.

The injuries the boys have suffered have led to renewed calls to ban the public sale of fireworks.