Mum's stark warning as her toddler gets burnt by hot tea in a cafe

And then there was the story of a little boy whose hands got burnt on ashes, even though the outdoor fire had been put out 16 hours beforehand.

Now, a mum has spoken up about how her son received horrific burns after tea from a plastic cup spilt on him in a cafe.

Suzie Forgarty posted on Facebook reminding parents of the danger hot water can cause to children. She wrote:

"Our 16 month old son Jake had a horrible accident with a freshly made cup of tea from a cafe. It was in one of those takeaway paper cups with a plastic lid which for some reason always seem so much hotter than a home made one.

"As you can see it’s burnt his skin badly. This is the effect hot water has on a child. They aren’t like adults, their skin is so much more delicate.

"This tea was on Jake's skin for just a few seconds and look at the damage it has done! Jake has had three weeks of treatment at the Broomfield Children’s Burns Unit on his face, neck and and chest. He has been absolutely amazing and our little hero.

"I’m posting this as a reminder to everyone out there, don’t make the same mistake as I did, please keep hot drinks well and truly out of their reach.

"I thought I had but not far enough as Jake decided to grab it from across the cafe table right in front of me. Thank god the cup had a lid on it as it could of been so much worse." ?

While lots of us hopefully do know what to do if our little gets hot or boiling water on them, Suzie's outlined the action you should take - a brill reminder for all of us ?

What to do if hot or boiling water spills on your child

"Firstly make sure you quickly grab the hot clothing away from their skin if they are wearing some to stop the burn spreading and getting deeper.

"Get them in a sink and put the burns under cool water for 15 minutes as quick as possible.

"Don’t use an outdoor tap as if the water is too cold it can lead to further burning and send them in to shock.

"Then take them out of the water and put clingfilm on the burns to stop the nerve endings from hurting as this stops the oxygen getting to them.

Continue to keep the burns cold with wet cold towels on the cling film, but keeping the rest of their body warm with cuddles and anything you can find clothing/blanket wise!

"This is a good time to give them Calpol too to take the edge off it.

"As you can imagine keeping a toddler under a stream of cool water for more than 10 seconds is hard, let alone 15 minutes like I had to do with Jake on his face and chest!!!

"This cold water is so important though and do this as long as you can as it helps stop the burn from getting deeper and deeper. And the deeper the burn, the more chance a skin graft will be your child’s only option."

This is great advice from Suzie - and so important to know just in case you find yourself in a similar situ at some point.

Images: Suzie Fogarty on Facebook

Read more:

• Step by step guide on how to treat your child's burns
• Mum's warning as toddler burns leg on a mobile phone
• Do you know the stop, drop and roll technique to prevent burns?