A holidaymaker is warning Brits to check their insurance carefully after hers is refusing to cover 'astronomical bills' when she was set ablaze at a festival - as it doesn't cover fire dancing.

Beatrice Francovschi travelled from her home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, to the US on her own last month to meet up with her friends for a festival in Indiana.

The 32-year-old, who's been fire performing as a hobby and side business for the last three years, decided to put on a small show at their campsite with another performer.

However, seconds after lighting one of her soaked fans, a gust of wind blew the vapours and fuel onto Beatrice's clothes and body - instantly setting her on fire. 

Beatrice said the fuel used in the US is more 'volatile and flammable', causing her to sustain second and third degree burns to her upper body in just a few seconds.

(Image: Kennedy News and Media)

Beatrice was rushed to hospital with 20 per cent burns across her body, with doctors concerned the inflammation around her neck could lead to breathing problems.

The systems analyst was airlifted to a specialist burns unit where she is still recovering from her extensive injuries.

Beatrice said her holiday insurance does not cover the incident - and is expecting to be handed an 'astronomical' bill of potentially hundreds of thousands after being discharged.

Beatrice said: "I've been doing fire performing as a hobby and side business for three years and have never had any accidents or burns and don't know of anyone else who has.

"I travelled to America by myself to attend a festival and to meet up with some online friends.

"On the Saturday night I was talking with a girl who also does fire performing and we decided to do a small show for the people on the camp site with us. It was just an impromptu thing with a small group of people.

"Unfortunately I didn't know that the fuel was so different to what I am used to using in the UK and it is a lot more volatile and flammable with a higher burn temperature as well as flammable vapours.

"I soaked the wicks of my fans and lit one of them. As I lifted the fan, a gust of wind blew the vapours and some of the fuel off the wicks of the fan and onto my clothes and body, setting me on fire.

"I was in pain and shock but knew to keep calm, not to breathe in and to keep my eyes and mouth closed and to drop to the floor.

"My hand, arm, shoulder and chest were on fire and the flames were going up over my neck, face and head, luckily I had recently had a shower and my hair was wet so it didn't catch fire."

Luckily, onlookers nearby were able to douse the flames within seconds, after which Beatrice was rushed to hospital with extensive injuries.

Beatrice said: "Those couple of seconds were all it took for me to sustain second and third degree burns to almost 20 percent of my body including my face.

"They were worried that my airways were going to close due to the swelling around my neck. I've never had an accident before. I didn't know what was going to happen.

"When they intubated me, I thought 'am I going to die?' It was terrifying. The hospital staff have been amazing."

After being airlifted to a specialist burns unit, Beatrice underwent surgery to have the worst affected areas of her skin removed and will soon have skin grafts taken.

Due to the nature of Beatrice's accident, her insurance company isn't going to cover medical costs - leaving her in potentially 'astronomical' debt.

Best friend Kali Tattersall has since launched a fundraiser to help cover Beatrice's medical bills after she is discharged.

Kali said: "It's going to be astronomical. We have no idea how much it's going to be. From what we've seen online, it's an insane amount of money for standard things.

"She's in a specialist unit and had a helicopter ride. It could be hundreds of thousands."