Toddler’s skin ‘peeled off in handfuls’ after burns from coffee | UK News

A mum has told of the horror moment her two-year-old son suffered third-degree burns when a hot pot of coffee fell onto him.

Laura Hitchins, 34, left her son Arthur for just a few seconds as she dashed to the toilet after she had topped up the cafetière.

But whilst she was in the bathroom she heard her toddler screaming, and she saw he had grabbed the full vessel.

The tot began screaming after the boiling hot coffee had his skin coming off ‘in handfuls’, his mum said.

Laura ripped off his hoody and carried him to the garden to soak him under the cold tap before calling 999.

The paramedics arrived at their Stretham home, 33 minutes later and rushed the tot to Addenbrooke Hospital, Cambridge.

Little Arthur was given ketamine to treat his excruciating pain, as the lad is allergic to morphine.

He underwent a three-and-a-half-hour surgery to remove the dead skin but caught an infection and required another skin graft operation.

After spending ten days in hospital, Arthur was able to return home and has since made an ‘amazing’ recovery, and is now a bubbly seven-year-old.

Laura said: ‘I just really want to make sure this doesn’t happen to other families.

‘These accidents can happen in the blink of an eye and it’s very scary.

‘Arthur loves climbing, and he was tall for his age. His burns were like something from a horror film, his skin was just melting off.’

Laura said she felt a lot of guilt since the incident three years ago – as she knew she was the one who made the pot of coffee, even though she did everything she could to prevent the accident.

Arthur’s skin had to be creamed several times a day, and his mum said it looked ‘painful’ during the healing process.

She said: ‘Arthur remembers what happened, and it’ll always be on my mind.

‘When I see people leaving hot cups around young children, it makes my heart stop a little bit.’

After going through the trauma, Laura advises all parents and carers who drink hot drinks but have young children to always use a cup with a lid.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.