A TODDLER scarred for life after his pyjamas caught fire has been allowed to return home after five weeks in hospital.

Two-year-old Daniel Mitchard-Harrison's family and The Northern Echo are campaigning to change the law to ensure all children's nightwear is flame- resistant after he suffered horrific burns when his pyjama shorts caught fire.

The incident happened at his home last month when a spark from a wood burner lit his shorts, setting them on fire within seconds.

Yesterday, his family were delighted to have him home in Dalton, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, after five weeks in a Newcastle hospital. He has suffered 15 per cent full thickness burns and endured a blood transfusion and skin grafts.

Doctors say the quick thinking of Daniel's mother, who tore the burning garments off him and put him in a cold bath, saved his life.

His grandfather, Andrew Mitchard, told The Northern Echo he was delighted his grandson had been allowed home, especially because the family had expected him to spend another two weeks in hospital.

He said Daniel, who may need further skin grafts, had lost so much weight he was wearing clothes for an 18-month-old child and was having difficulty bending his legs, but was being very brave.

"He is on the mend, but it is going to be a pretty long journey," said Mr Mitchard.

"We were very surprised. We were expecting him to be in hospital for at least another fortnight. He's come on in leaps and bounds."

Daniel's parents, Liza Mitchard-Harrison and Michael Harrison, have allowed Daniel's story to be told in the hope it will prevent another child from suffering the same fate.

Mrs Mitchard-Harrison, 27, did not leave Daniel's side during his stay at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle.

Mr Michard said she was keeping a scrapbook of all the press cuttings so that Daniel would know when he was older that his case had helped to prevent injuries to other children.

"He can look back on these injuries and wear them with pride," said Mr Mitchard.

He said stores should have a moral obligation to ensure their products were safe.

Earlier this week, after being alerted to the problem, a spokeswoman for Asda, which supplied the shorts worn by Daniel, said the store chain was horrified at the case.

"Our technical team at George is going to look at creating a line of pyjamas with a higher man-made content, using more polyester," she said.

"The George team will look into that straight away."

Tesco and Woolworths also said that in the light of Daniel's accident and the Protect Our Children campaign, they would look again at the flammability of their children's pyjamas.

Meanwhile, international support is mounting for the Northern Echo's Protect Our Children campaign, with more than 150 people from all over Europe signing The Northern Echo's online petition.

The ITV programme GMTV has also given its backing.

* To add your name to The Northern Echo's petition for a ban on flammable pyjamas for children, visit http://www.the northernecho.co.uk/news/campaigns.protectourchildren/