A CWMBRAN mother is calling on parents to engage with next week’s Child Safety Week by backing a new invention to prevent burns.

Two years ago, Rebecca Watkins’ son, Archie, suffered severe burns at just eight months old when he grabbed the cord of her hair straighteners and pulled the 230°C hot irons onto his arm.

The straighteners landed on Archie’s upper arm, hot plates at either side. The heat was so intense that he didn’t cry or scream, but simply gasped.

This all happened within the one or two seconds it took for Mrs Watkins, 25, to grab the cable and pull the straighteners off.

Mrs Watkins immediately put her son in a cold bath and after the shock had subsided, he seemed relatively happy. Rather than being angry and red, Archie’s arms looked like irritated skin with white patches.

However, still unsure, Rebecca and her husband, Shaun, an electrician, took Archie to A&E at the Royal Gwent Hospital to have his burns checked over. They learnt, to their horror, that he had suffered immediate nerve damage.

They were devastated to learn that Archie’s burns were just a fraction from being a third degree classification, leaving Archie scarred for life.

Ahead of Child Safety Week on June 1-7, which aims to raise awareness of the risks of child accidents and how they can be prevented, Mrs Watkins is backing a new safety product, the DAIO.

The DAIO is a safe way to store all straightening irons and curling tongs out of the reach of toddlers. The storage device can withstand searing temperatures to safely house appliances while they are heating up, during use and cooling down.

Mrs Watkins said: “The events of that day still play on my mind.

"It all happened so quickly and highlighted just how dangerous today’s super-heated hair appliances are.

“I have tried and tested the DAIO both out of curiosity and my own paranoia after the accident. I can honestly say that had I had one at the time, Archie’s accident would not have happened.”

A donation of £1 from every unit sold in the UK will go to the Child Accident Prevention Trust in the hope that the partnership can help prevent more accidents.

The DAIO is available to buy online at the-daio.com and retails at £49.99.