Actor Ashton Kutcher had an Independence Day (04Jul13) to remember this year (13) as he almost blew himself up when he set off fireworks.

The No Strings Attached star set about mounting a display of fireworks with his brother and step-father for his family in Iowa to enjoy on the American holiday on 4 July (13), but the night nearly ended in disaster.

Speaking on U.S. Tv programme The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he explains, "This year there was a near fatal incident. My brother, my step-dad and I we were lighting them off and my brother was my loader. He dropped the thing in the tube and I light it and he drops the next and I light it and so on.

"So he drops one upside down, so instead of shooting up, it shot down and it just blew up, but I had the proper safety gear on."