Mother posts picture of daughter in hospital to warn of firework dangers

A mother has shared a distressing photo of her daughter lying in a hospital bed after being struck with a stray firework.

Stephanie Roe posted a picture of her four-year-old daughter Maisie, who suffered burns after the firework exploded next to her face.

Ms Roe, from Berrydown, North Devon, urged parents to go to organised firework displays, and not to buy them for home use, following the incident.

The 30-year-old said her daughter was standing 10 metres away from the firework box, which came with advice of a five-metre buffer zone, when the stray firework hit.

The mother of three, who is a police officer, wrote: "It should have gone straight up like the four before it and filled the sky with sparkles.

"It didn't. It went sideways and embedded itself in this little one's scarf before exploding.

"She has full thickness burns to her head and shoulder that will probably require skin grafts.

"The burning to her face and ear seem superficial at this time.

"Probably the most heart-breaking of all are the superficial burns to her little hand where she's tried in vain to pull the firework off her before it exploded."

She added: "It's hard to believe now but Maisie was lucky. A few inches different and she could have been blinded or had her airway compromised.

"If this photo puts anyone off buying fireworks from a supermarket/newsagent and setting them off in their garden next year then good. Go to an organised display, it is NEVER worth the risk."

Maisie is being treated at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and will need more surgery on Wednesday, Ms Roe added.

Figures from NHS Digital show that in 2014/15, 4,500 people attended A&Es in England with firework related injuries.

The data show that more than 100 people had injuries so severe that they needed to be admitted to hospital.