A traumatised little boy left permanently disfigured after stepping on a disposable barbecue has walked unaided on a beach for the first time since the ordeal. Will Tyler, 11, had to have skin grafts from his right thigh to his left foot after stepping on an extremely hot piece of sand which seared through his feet.
He's been left with lifelong scars and suffered severe mental trauma, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), in the two years since the accident. As Brits bask in the hottest week of the year Will's dad Toby, 52, is warning families to dispose of their barbecues.
Until recently, Will had to wear special UV shoes to protect his skin from the scorching temperatures. But this week Will found the courage to walk on the sand on the Wirral coast in Merseyside without his footwear - just miles down the coast from his horror in Formby, Merseyside.
Toby, 52, said: "He was delighted to walk on the beach for the first time unaided, without the shoes, since the accident. It was a really lovely moment for him and us as a family.
"I think we didn't realise at the time but it was a big moment in William's journey. He was apprehensive initially. It wasn't a particularly sunny and warm day, it was just cloudy, so he decided to walk on the sand without the shoes. In addition to the physical injuries, it has affected William mentally as well and so this was a big achievement."
Will still has to go back to hospital every six to eight weeks for checks - a process which will continue until he stops growing. But Mr Tyler, a teacher at an infant school, said his son struggles more so with his mental symptoms.
The father of two, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, continued: "He recalls the skin grafts as more traumatic than the accident itself. He gets really terrible separation anxiety because when he was in hospital initially it was in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and so he was essentially locked in isolation with just his mum Claire.
"He was in the burns unit at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for nine nights. Doctors thought he had PTSD as a result of the trauma. He has had quite severe problems since it.
"He has suffered from quite bad anxiety attacks. He has to wear the compression sock all the time, including at school and in swimming and PE. He has massages twice a day, a splint as well as frequent and regular visits to the hospital’s burns unit and psychosocial support unit."
Mr Tyler has now backed a campaign to ban disposable barbecues in the UK, which has coincided with National BBQ Week, which ends on Sunday. The teacher, who also lives with HR manager wife Claire, 44, and their 13-year-old daughter Lily, says the kits are dangerous and harmful to the environment.
The crusade comes after seven-year-old Simi Adenaike was badly burned in similar circumstances in Swansea, south Wales. She too may need a skin graft after stepping on a throwaway barbecue buried in the sand on a beach.
Mr Tyler added: "There have been significant levels of concern about this recently. They are terribly damaging to the environment and wasteful as single-use materials.
"Then there's the human side. William is by no means the only child who has suffered as it is constantly going on. There's the girl in Swansea and a similar accident in Scotland since then. William is not alone and it'll happen again.
"There are few reasons not to use them and there are better alternatives. They cause fires and children get injured. We want them completely banned. It's not anti barbecue though, it is anti these units. Aldi and Waitrose stopped selling them for these reasons so that was quite a significant step really.
"We want to call on other retailers to do the same but really the government should take action. William's accident happened on what should have been a nice family day out, at the time when we were finally allowed out further than our local area during the pandemic."
More than one million disposable barbecues end up in landfill every year. Brian George, a chef dubbed the Grillmaster, who founded the National BBQ Week, said: "We have been calling for retailers to Ditch the Disposable since 2020 and this is a prime example of the dire need for a nationwide ban.
"They may be cheap to buy but they have a heavy environmental price. Whilst some national retailers have already put partial bans in place, it’s simple not enough, retailers need to enforce a complete ban or else the UK government needs to step in enforce a ban.
"In the meantime I would encourage shoppers to send them a clear message not to buy them and that they have no place on shop shelves in 2022. As we’ve said many, many times, Ditch the Disposable.”
A Defra spokesperson said: "We encourage people to responsibly dispose of barbecues to help protect human health, wildlife and our environment. We are commissioning research to examine the impact of barbecues and other flammable items on our environment.”
