My candle horror
Mother suffers serious burns as glass explodes
A WOMAN was seriously injured after a scented candle exploded in her hands.
Anne Smith litan Air Wick pearl infusions gel candle before sitting down to relax and watch television.
But 20 minutes later the candle began to produce a huge flame which triggered the fire alarm in her home.
When Mrs Smith, of Forres, Moray, tried to move the candle to a safer place, its glass casing exploded and soaked her hands with scalding hot gel.
Her husband, Robert, drove her to nearby Forres Health Clinic and she was then transferred to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin, Moray, for emergency treatment.
The pain she suffered was so intense that she had to be given morphine as medics treated her burns.
The 35- year- old’s blistered and swollen fingers are still bandaged and she is unable to carry out her work as a carer. The mother of two said that although some of the bandages had been removed, the burns were still causing her a lot of pain.
She added: ‘I just lit the candle for the nice smell, while I was watching TV, but within 20 minutes of lighting it the smoke alarm was going off.
‘The candle was producing a huge flame, which must have been about 18in high, so I tried to take it through to the sink and at that point it just exploded in my hands.
‘It must have been quite a heat to make the glass burst apart like that, and the pain was unbearable.’
Mrs Smith, who l i ves with her husband and children Abigail, 16, and 11-year-old Jon, does not know when she will be able to return to work.
She said: ‘It was a real shock but I am lucky in a way, as it could have burst near my face.’
A spokesman for Air Wick said the company had contacted Mrs Smith and added: ‘We were very concerned to hear of this incident and take it very seriously.
‘We hope to ascertain exactly what happened, and to retrieve the product for testing.
‘However, Air Wick’s range of candles are used in thousands of homes safely every day. They are developed in line with stringent UK and EU regulations and undergo extensive laboratory testing prior to going on sale.
‘Clear usage instructions and safety warnings are on the packaging.’