A SCHOOLGIRL was left with serious burns after spilling a few drops of Primark nail glue on her leggings – causing them to melt in plumes of toxic smoke.
Little Lilly Worsfold, 11, was engulfed in a toxic cloud after the 60p adhesive – marketed to children – made contact with the cotton-and-Lycra garment.
Primark has launched an urgent investigation into the product after Lilly’s mum Louise posted a shocking video of the dramatic chemical reaction.
Nursery manager Louise, 31, said: “I allowed Lilly to buy some pink plastic nails and a bottle of nail glue from Primark as a summer holiday treat.
“She’s used them before – usually she sticks them on and they fall off a few days later.
“But on this occasion she spilt a tiny amount of the glue on her leggings and they suddenly started smoking. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“Lilly was screaming in agony. I pulled her leggings off as quickly as I could. They were red-hot and starting to stick to her skin.
“I rushed her to hospital and they sent us to a specialist burns unit. Now they’re saying she may have to have skin grafts.
“As a mother I feel partly responsible for letting her have the nails, but they’re clearly marketed to children and she bought them herself without any questions being asked.
Primark needs to take this product off the shelves immediately before another child is hurt
“Primark needs to take this product off the shelves immediately before another child is hurt – maybe even more seriously.”
Louise, of Farnborough, Hants, added: “Lilly is a very responsible girl, I wouldn’t let her use nail glue otherwise.
“I always thought the worst that could happen with nail glue was that you could temporarily stick your fingers together – not that it would ignite your clothing and cause chemical burns.
“This is a terrible start to the summer holidays. Lilly can’t go swimming or to the beach and has to keep her legs elevated as much as possible. She’s also facing the prospect of surgery.
“On top of that, she’s terrified of starting a new secondary school in September with horrible scars all over her legs.”
Lilly spent £1 of her pocket money on a set of pink plastic nails and 60p on a bottle of brush-on nail glue from Primark on Saturday.
Both bore the chain’s “P.S.” beauty brand marketed at girls and young women.
Lilly started applying the nails in the back of the car on the way home. But after spilling a bit of the glue on her £35 “Pink Soda” leggings from JD Sports, they started emitting noxious smoke.
Her sister Poppy, eight, and three-year-old brother Hugo complained their eyes were stinging as the poisonous cloud filled the car.
Louise pulled over immediately and removed Lilly’s leggings, swabbing the burned areas with wet tissues before driving to nearby St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey.
They assessed the injuries and referred Lilly to a specialist burns unit in East Grinstead, West Sussex.
Doctors conducted tests which showed the burns were quite deep, and may require skin grafts.
Louise and husband Peter, 39, complained to Primark and they asked them to send in the glue for testing.
The cut-price chain apologised for the incident and said it would try to work out why the glue caused such a reaction.
