Lancashire toddler left with third degree burns after grabbing mum's hair straighteners

A mum has spoken of her horror after her toddler was left with third degree burns - by picking up her hair straighteners.

Billy Miller needed a skin graft after grabbing hold of his mum Debbie's styling device when she turned her back 'for a split second'. The youngster - then 14 months old - was left with a blistered right hand and needed months of treatment.

Now Debbie is warning other parents of the dangers of the heated tongs.

She said: "I have never felt panic and fear like it. As a parent, I only wish two things: firstly, that the straighteners were out of his reach so this hadn’t happened at all and secondly that it never happens to any other child.

"I turned my back for a split second, and turned back to see Billy holding onto my hair straighteners. He didn’t make a sound and stood very still and silent with his eyes wide, I grabbed the straightener out of his hand, scooped him up and ran into the bathroom to put his hand under the cold tap.

"At this point the realisation kicked in and Billy started to cry. I have never felt panic and fear like it. [When I was told] He had third degree burns and would need a skin graft, that was when guilt crept in, although it didn’t really creep, it hit me like a wave and it has never left me since."

The shocking injury happened in March 2021 when mum-of-four Debbie was getting ready at home in Barton, Lancashire. She rushed Billy to the bathroom to run his hand under cold water, at which point he started to cry.

She then took him to hospital where she was told Billy’s burn was deep and they needed to go to the Burns and Plastics unit at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. While Billy was young enough not to remember the incident, Debbie says the thought of what happened still haunts her to this day.

Luckily, after 18 months of treatment, Billy has been signed off from the specialist burns unit in November 2023. But the effects of his injuries are long-lasting.

He is likely to have scars for the foreseeable future and needs to apply factor 50 sun cream on his hand all year round.