Protect Our Children
Brave Nathaniel wrestling with legacy of blaze
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| FACE OF COURAGE: Six-year-old burns victim Nathaniel Smith and his mother, Marika, are backing our campaign |
A YEAR ago Nathaniel Smith was a happy little five-year-old who loved to wrestle.
Then a horrific house fire destroyed his family home, leaving him with 60 per cent burns and fighting for his life.
Nathaniel's bravery has touched people across the North-East as he has endured scores of operations, excruciating pain and scars that will be with him for life.
Monday is the first anniversary of Nathaniel's accident and last night his mother backed The Northern Echo's Protect Our Children campaign.
The campaign was launched after two-year-old Daniel Mitchard-Harrison was badly burned when his pyjamas set alight.
A quirk in the law means that pyjamas do not need to be flame resistant - unlike girls' nightdresses and dressing gowns.
The same pyjamas Daniel was wearing will ignite and burn to almost nothing in less than 60 seconds.
The Northern Echo and Daniel's family are calling for a change in the law demanding that all children's pyjamas are flame-resistant.
To date, more than 2,000 people across the world have signed our petition and 36 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion calling on the Government to change the law.
Nathaniel's mother, Marika Smith, said last night: "I got to know Daniel and his family in the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI), in Newcastle, and I know first-hand the pain of burns.
"It is an absolute disgrace that this Government and retailers are prepared to allow other children to go through this when it could prevent further incidents like what happened to Daniel.
"Perhaps these people would care to visit a burns' ward and listen to the screams as children have their dressings changed. Something needs to be done."
The family live in Low Fell, Gateshead, and Nathaniel has an older brother and sister.
Mrs Smith urged all parents to ensure they had working smoke alarms in their homes because they did not have an alarm at the time of the fire.
She added: "We have had a hideous year, but things are starting to get better. Nathaniel is happy to be back at school.
"We have to get over the scars and we have to deal with other's people's reactions.
"He does get stared at and I would ask people to be more sensitive, because those stares really hurt."
Nathaniel, now six, needs to attend the RVI every day as the skin grafts on his head are still healing. He also needs to put cream on three times a day and wear a pressure suit to reduce the scarring. Although he has returned to school, it will be a while before he can enjoy wrestling again.
8:37am Friday 25th May 2007
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