Brothers’ barbecue plea after Harri’s burn agony
TWO-YEAR-OLD Harri Clarkson knows exactly what it’s like to step on a still-hot barbecue carelessly left on the beach.
In June the toddler suffered severe burns to both legs after stepping on a barbecue that had been buried in sand at Caswell Bay.
Now he has spoken out, alongside his older brother Oscar, as part of a social media campaign to urge people to dispose of their barbecues properly.
In a video, being supported by Swansea Council, Oscar says: “My baby brother Harri went on the beach and burnt his feet on some barbecue coals.”
Harri then adds: “If you barbecue on the beach, put it in the bin.”
Harri has only just recovered from his experience, which his mum, Laura, described as her “worst day ever as a parent”.
She said at the time: “Harri was incredibly brave when the doctors had to burst and scrape all the blisters and apply the dressings.”
“To the absolute tool who caused my two-year-old so much pain, I have no words to express how lazy and stupid your decision was and the consequences this has now had for Harri. I hope you are ashamed.”
The council has supported the family in their campaign to remind people to wake up and understand that littering beaches with disposable barbecues is simply not on.
According to Laura, the council had been “proactive” in helping to spread the message. She said: “After meeting with the council, short and long-term plans have been put in place with the objective being to alert beach users to the hazards posed by barbecues on beaches and promote responsible use.”
Plans include a new councilproduced sign to accompany the barbecue bin to be displayed at Caswell Bay.
Mark Thomas, council cabinet member for environment, said he couldn’t agree more with the Clarkson brothers and their parents.
He said: “What’s happened to Harri is awful. Five of our most popular beaches, including Caswell, have special barbecue bins where people can safely dispose of them. But the fact is there is no excuse to dump them on any beach thinking it’s OK.
“The council does not dump litter on beaches, people do. They do it because either they don’t care or because they can’t be bothered to do the right thing. It’s incredible that simply due to some idiot’s utter laziness, Harri has been hurt. It’s just shameful.”
Since the incident, the council has stepped up beach litter collections, increased the number of bins available and intensified the number of visits by enforcement officers to the beaches it manages.
“Absolutely the worst thing anyone can do with a disposable barbecue or any other beach litter is to bury it in the sand,” added Mr Thomas. “It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Yes, we have bins in place, yes, there are signs on beaches warning about litter and yes, the council is actively cleaning up beaches.”