A teenager who suffered third and fourth degree burns in a pub arson attack 10 years ago is recovering in hospital from an infection due to an injury she suffered in the incident.

Vicky Knight, 17, is still struggling to rebuild her life a decade after she was badly burned in the attack in east London.

She has undergone a number of operations to repair damage to her hand in the fire that cost the lives of three other people.

The student, of Turnage Road, Dagenham, had to spend a further week in hospital, following a trip to an international burns camp in Johannesburg to meet people from South Africa, South Korea and Taiwan on August 23.

Vicky said: “It was amazing because with me having burns, it is hard to think about other people who have the same thing, but it was a really good experience.

“We had a fire engine escort us to the camp on our first day and we went on a safari which was amazing.

“We also went to see the house that Nelson Mandela was born in and it had markings on the wall and you could see the bullet holes.

“Seeing his prison cell was a bit scary, but really good.”

The trip had been organised by the Burned Children’s Club charity.

But Vicky almost did not make it to South Africa because a series of infections in her arm looked set to keep her in hospital.

She is now back in hospital receiving further treatment for a bone infection.