FIREWORK SPARK BURNS KIAN HOUSTON AT GLASGOW DISPLAY

Sharlene, Kian Houston’s mother, said a firework spark entered his jacket as she zipped it up near a display in Robroyston, Glasgow. The spark went beneath Kian’s chin and became trapped inside his coat, leaving him with blistering burns. His sister, Emeli, pushed him away from another spark heading towards his face, Sharlene said. The family had parked about a mile from the display and had just got out of their car.

The family took Kian to a nearby Asda and ran cold water over the burn for 20 minutes, according to Sharlene. She drew around the affected area to check whether it spread. “As the minutes were going on it was getting worse and worse, and then a large bubble developed, so we took him to hospital,” she said. Staff at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow gave Kian intravenous antibiotics and marked his leg in preparation for a possible skin graft. He responded to treatment and spent several days in hospital without needing the graft.

Sharlene later released photographs of Kian’s injuries ahead of Bonfire Night to warn about firework risks to children. Kian subsequently returned to hospital for steroid injections at the burn site, Sharlene said. She said he had needed no further follow-up treatment after those injections. Accounts place the firework injury between two and three years before the photographs were released.