Boy lit with a flamethrower

The damage the homemade device caused. Photo / APN

The mother of an 11-year-old boy is upset the teenage bullies who attacked her son with a homemade flame-thrower have not been caught.

Luke, who lives in Utahina, Rotorua, was left with blistering burns along his right arm and hand when one of five teens sprayed deodorant at him and ignited it with a lighter as he walked home from Rotorua Intermediate School.

The teens, wearing Western Heights High School uniforms, ran away laughing.

Luke's mother, Kim, who did not want the family's surname printed, said she was shocked the group had targeted a boy they had never met.

"I was so angry. He was just a kid on his way past and they randomly targeted him. It could have got his face, it could have exploded," she said.

"He was in a lot of pain."

She said it was fortunate her son was not wearing a long-sleeved shirt which could have caught fire.

Kim laid a complaint with police in the wake of the Tuesday incident, but the file was quickly closed because her son could not provide a description of the perpetrator. She had also reported the incident to Western Heights High School but had not heard back.

Kim said she hoped witnesses would come forward so police would investigate. The incident happened on Old Taupo Rd near Rotorua Intermediate School at about 3.30pm.

Luke had been to the doctor twice to treat the burns and was recovering well. The blistering would heal and leave no long-term marks.

Luke said the attack was "really painful. I kept scooting all the way home and hopped in the shower for about an hour."

Anyone with any information should call Rotorua police on (07) 348 0099.