A three-year-old boy was set on fire while playing with alcohol hand sanitiser for Covid-19 and a lighter.

Captain Chuenbubpha and his older brother Nonoe, five, were fooling around while getting ready for school inside their home in Samut Prakan, Thailand on August 26.

The younger of the two squirted the coronavirus protective gel all over his arms and hands, then splashed it onto his uniform and fired it at his brother. His brother squirted back at the young boy.

However, the two boys then picked up a cigarette lighter they took from their parents' bedroom drawers which the older boy then sparked it up.

Captain, who had the most alcohol gels on his shirt, was engulfed in flames within a few seconds.

Their uncle, Thanwa Chuenbubpha, 26, who was having breakfast downstairs with the parents, then rushed to the room upstairs when he heard the children screaming.

The shocked uncle said he did not know what to do at first after seeing his nephew burning on his neck, chest, and arms.

Thanwa said: "I ran to the kids when I heard them crying. I did whatever I could to stop the fire as soon as possible before it burns the boy more.''

The worried uncle used his bare hands to kill the flames before tearing the uniform out of the crying boy.

He added: ''I smothered him to put out the flames. They were extinguished quickly but he still had injuries all over his body.''

Captain was later taken to the hospital in an ambulance. The child has recovered well with minor burns after staying at the hospital for one night.