Boy, 12, needed skin graft after squishy toy 'exploded' in heatwave leaving him with horrific burns

A MUM has issued an urgent warning to parents after claiming her son's squishy toy exploded during the heatwave – leaving the 12-year-old needing a skin graft for horrific burns.

Avyaan Narula was playing with a NeeDoh cube, bought from Lidl, when it suddenly "popped", sending warm sticky gel over the top of his left foot.

His horrified mum, Aarti Narula, 44, raced into the kitchen after hearing her son screaming in agony.

Initially believing he had simply been frightened by the gooey substance, she quickly rinsed the thick paste from his foot under cold running water. But within hours, the injury took a shocking turn.

The skin on the top of Avyaan's foot began to blister before swelling dramatically, while he also lost all feeling in the area.

Concerned, Aarti rushed him to a walk-in centre before he was transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, where doctors diagnosed him with full-thickness burns.

Just days later, on July 20, Avyaan underwent surgery to receive a skin graft, with surgeons taking healthy skin from his thigh to repair the badly damaged area on his foot.

Aarti, from Southport, Merseyside, believes the toy burst after it had been left on a sunny bedroom windowsill during soaring temperatures.

She said: "He was in the kitchen and suddenly started screaming.

"I rushed in and saw the fluid from inside the cube all over his foot and on the floor. I think it just exploded and the warm fluid went onto him.

"At first I thought he was just panicking because of the mess. I didn't realise it was actually a burn."

She said the sticky substance was incredibly difficult to remove.

"It got stuck like a thick blob. I washed it off under the cold tap and threw the cube straight in the bin.

"The paste wouldn't even come off the floor. I had to scrape it off with a knife before cleaning it."

Although Avyaan initially appeared comfortable, the injury rapidly deteriorated.

"About an hour later the skin started bubbling," Aarti said.

"Two or three hours later it had ballooned completely, and that's when I knew something wasn't right.

"We were especially worried because he had no feeling at all in that part of his foot."

Doctors later confirmed the burn was so severe that the damaged skin had lost its blood supply, making a skin graft necessary.

"The doctors said he definitely needed the graft because there was no blood supply left," Aarti said.

"They took quite a large patch of skin from his thigh because the burn was so deep."

The mum-of-two said the toy had been used without problems before the incident and believes prolonged exposure to direct sunlight caused it to fail.

"We bought it from Lidl a few months earlier and he'd always played with it safely," she said.

"The only thing we can think of is that it had been sitting on his windowsill in a room that gets extremely hot because it faces the sun.

"It happened completely out of nowhere – right at the start of the school holidays."

NeeDoh toys are manufactured by Schylling Toys, whose website warns customers: "Do NOT heat, freeze, or microwave, may cause personal injury."

Some retailers also advise customers not to leave the products in direct sunlight or inside hot vehicles.

However, Aarti believes the warning does not go far enough.

"I think they're massively dangerous because this could happen again," she said.

"They're being sold everywhere. If they can burst because they've got too hot, that's a real danger."

She is now urging other parents to get rid of the toys altogether.

"Anyone who's got one of these cubes should just bin it," she said.

"You can't tell children they're only safe to play with when it's cold. I'd make sure children don't go anywhere near them."

Lidl said that the product packaging includes clear usage and safety instructions advising that the item should not be left in direct sunlight or exposed to high temperatures, as heat can compromise the material integrity. A Lidl GB spokesperson said: "We are very sorry to hear of this incident and wish Avyaan a full and smooth recovery. "The safety and quality of our products is always a priority, and we take any issue of this nature extremely seriously. "Relevant usage and safety instructions are included on the packaging of this product and we can confirm it is fully compliant with all safety standards." A spokesperson for Schylling, who manufacture NeeDoh, said: "The safety of our consumers, especially children, is Schylling's top priority. "NeeDoh products are designed and tested to meet applicable toy safety standards. NeeDoh products are not intended to be microwaved, heated, frozen, or otherwise exposed to extreme temperatures. Use of a NeeDoh product in a manner inconsistent with its instructions and warnings may pose a safety risk. "We have also reinforced safety warnings on NeeDoh product packaging and across our e-commerce listings. "We encourage parents and caregivers to supervise children during play and to review all product instructions and warnings before use. Consumers with questions about the safe use of NeeDoh products, or who wish to report a concern, are encouraged to contact Schylling customer service at [email protected]."