Just days after being forced to flee his burning home after some late-night pyrotechnics that went wrong, Mario Balotelli has emerged as the unlikely face of a firework safety campaign.

The 21-year-old Manchester City star has denied being responsible for setting off the fireworks which triggered Saturday’s blaze.

But he has readily agreed to front a safety campaign warning children of the dangers of fireworks ahead of Guy Fawkes night on Nov. 5.

He said: “I didn’t set any fireworks off, it was a friend of mine.

“Luckily, nobody was injured. It was a really stupid thing for him to do, someone could have been hurt and I was really, really angry with him about it.

“It is an important message that children should not mess with fireworks. They can be very dangerous if they are not used in the right way.

“People should follow the firework code.”