An 11-year-old boy's hand has been left severely injured after a boat flare ignited inside a Hastings house this afternoon.

A neighbour said they were outside fixing their shed when they heard a loud bang followed by a child screaming "My finger, my finger!"

"I went over there and asked one of them if the boy was alright and they said "No, he's blown up his finger"," they said.

When they arrived there were about four boys aged about 10 years-old at the property and smoke was pouring out of the front door, the neighbour said.

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The neighbour took the injured boy, named Thomas, to their property's deck while another neighbour called an ambulance.

"I grabbed it [his hand] and squeezed it to stop the bleeding."

After waiting for 10 minutes the neighbour said someone from across the road offered to drive the boy to hospital.

The neighbour said the group of children didn't attend school and were often seen playing on the road.

"They're on the road daylight till dark ...The kids should have been at school."

"You don't want for these sorts of things to happen but you do because then it can be someone else's problem."

A police spokesperson said they received a call from the hospital at 12.40pm and had been making enquiries at the address.

A hospital spokeswoman said the boy was in a stable condition.