I’m a model and I was told I deserved to burn in hell after I was disfigured in car explosion – but I had the last laugh

A MODEL whose face was disfigured in a car explosion says she had the last laugh after people said she deserved to burn in hell.

Alice Yaxley, 21, from London, suffered first-degree burns to her face, arms and chest when she opened the bonnet of her friend’s overheating car and it exploded.

mediadrumworld/Alice YaxleyAlice Yaxley before the horror accident[/caption]

Alice suffered first-degree burns to her facemediadrumworld/Alice Yaxley

The stunning ASOS, New Look and River Island model was covered in boiling engine fluid, and was ignored by passers-by as her friend tried to flag them down for help.

Firemen hosed Alice down for an hour after the hot fluid fused her clothes to her skin.

She underwent “traumatic” surgery to peel back her face to remove deformed skin, and lost vision out of her left eye for several days.

Alice said: “I remember screaming and crying, it was the worst pain I have ever felt and only got worse.

“My face took the largest hit but the burns did cover my arms and chest too.

“Imagine holding a burning piece of coal and not dropping it, the longer it’s there, the more intense the pain is.

“The firefighters saved my modelling career that’s for sure.

“They hosed me down for over an hour to cool the burns and if they didn’t, the scarring would have been a lot worse.”

Doctors predicted that Alice’s burns would never heal, and told her to avoid direct sunlight for at least two years – putting her modelling career in doubt.

She said: “Modelling was my entire life, it was my priority.

“Everything in my life fitted around that one thing. As a model I moulded to be what I was told to be.

“ASOS were very supportive during this time, they sent me flowers and assured me they would continue to work with me whether I had scarring or not.

“But no-one could give me answers at first as to if I would ever recover, so I accepted that it was the end of my career, but it wasn’t easy.”

When Alex shared the devastating news on TikTok, vile trolls bombarded her with abuse.

She said: “I genuinely felt close to the end and when I posted on TikTok I actually received a fair bit of hate.

“One comment sticks out to me even now. I was told I deserve this and they hope my kids one day burn in hell like I did.

“I had lots of judgment on my character based on my job, which was very surprising to me because I felt like I was being described completely opposite to who I am.

“This was very hard for me to deal with and it made me realise how nasty people can be.”

But the beauty had the last laugh when she eventually resumed her modelling career with newfound confidence and gratitude.

Alice said: “I was a very insecure person before but I gained massive confidence by going out with the burns on my face and seeing I was appreciated for far more than what I looked like.

“The fact it has healed is just a bonus to me. I have modelled since I was 16 and I don’t think I appreciated what a special job I had at the time.

“As much as it was an awful experience, I think it was the best thing to happen for me in terms of my outlook on life.

“Every day I live in gratitude and uplift those that I can as I’ve seen first-hand how positivity can save lives.

“I’d say mentally it made me stronger and happier in the long run.”

It comes after The Sun revealed that an aspiring model was left with chemical burns and rashes over her face after using Garnier micellar water.

Student Amelia Green, 17, had swollen eyes and was covered in painful red burns after using the highstreet make-up remover.

Cosmetics giant Avon unveiled another female burns survivor as the face of one of its lipstick campaigns.

Catrin Pugh, 25, will showcase lipsticks for the 130-year-old beauty brand, famed for its Avon Calling slogan.

She underwent 200 surgeries after suffering third-degree burns to over 96% of her body in a horror road crash in France.

Alice made a slow but full recovery after her accident, and is now modelling againmediadrumworld/Alice Yaxleymediadrumworld/Alice YaxleyASOS sent Alice flowers and told her they would continue to work with her after her horror accident[/caption]

The stunning model doubted she would ever work again after the accidentmediadrumworld/Alice Yaxleymediadrumworld/Alice YaxleyAlice before the car explosion[/caption]