**WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT **
A mum-of-four has described how she watched her skin burn off when a hot water exploded and poured boiling water over her body.
Sophie Mason, 29, said her agonising injuries were so deep her “veins collapsed” and she instantly felt sick when the bottle she had tucked in her leggings burst.
She has now undergone two skin grafts to treat the damaged areas of her legs and stomach which were the worst affected by the freak accident.
Sophie had been recording a Halloween video with husband Mark, 44, for the guinea pig sanctuary she runs in Waddington, Lincs., last Monday (30/9)..
They came inside to get warm from the rain outside and RAF serviceman Mark made a hot water bottle for Sophie, who then tucked it into her leggings at just before 10pm.
But to her horror it burst open and she was left screaming in pain as she was doused in boiling hot water.
Mark helped her get out of the sodden clothes before calling an ambulance and paramedics used a special dressing to cool the burned areas before taking her to hospital.
She was discharged the following morning at 4am but she needed to return to hospital later on Friday (4/10) for skin grafts on her stomach and leg.
Sophie now wants to spread awareness to prevent people from filling hot water bottles up straight from the kettle, especially when preparing them for children.
Sophie, who has two sons aged nine and seven and is a step-mother to Mark’s sons aged 16 and 12, said: “We were preparing our Halloween video outside.
“It was cold and wet so we came inside and I said ‘can you fill up my hot water bottle for me?’.
“Mark filled up the hot water bottle, and I tucked it down the front of my leggings, which I usually do to keep it secure.
“The bottle split down the seam. It went on my stomach and my leg. It was like an instant feeling of feeling sick.
“I tried very hard to get my clothes off but I had burned my hand.
“I screamed for my husband in the kitchen. He ripped off my clothes. He started throwing cold tea towels at me to cool me down.
“A couple of minutes later he phoned the ambulance. He phoned just after 10pm, it arrived just after 10.30pm.
“It feels like a long time when you feel like you are on fire.
“I was complaining about the pain in my hand as opposed to my stomach and leg, even though you could see the skin blistering and peeling.
“The reason for this was the burn on my hand was superficial so the nerves were exposed.
“The paramedics knew my hand was not a massive problem. They wrapped me up in special bandages to cool down my skin.
“They couldn’t get morphine into me straight away because I had gone into shock and my veins had collapsed.
“After the second attempt they managed to get morphine into me and rushed me into hospital.
“I arrived at Lincoln County Hospital just before 11pm and I was home by 4am. I have been backwards and forwards in and out of hospital in Nottingham since then.
“There must have been 100 blisters on my stomach and legs. They were popping them open and covering me up to protect me.
“They told me I needed two skin grafts on my stomach and leg.
“I was surprised by how bad it was. My stomach and leg didn’t hurt but it was because the water had burned off the nerve endings.
“The operation needed doing. It has been more painful than I expected. It has not helped my mobility at all.
”It was just a normal hot water bottle. It wasn’t old, I wasn’t over-full. It was just an unfortunate accident, and it was my own ignorance.
“I am trying to warn people not to fill them straight from the kettle so they don’t make the same mistake. It’s just not worth it.”