A mum is warning parents of young children to check electrical appliances after her 23-month-old daughter got dragged inside a spinning tumble dryer.
Little Iiylah-Louise was playing when she opened the door of the dryer and got her finger caught on a blanket as it sped round the drum.
Horrified mum Shannon, 24, heard her daughter’s screams and managed to flick the machine off at the mains just as the tot’s head was pulled inside.
Iiylah was rushed to hospital following the freak accident at her home in Somercotes, Derby, last Wednesday (18/10).
She spent the day in King’s Mill Hospital, Notts., where she received treatment for tissue damage to the fingers on her right hand.
Shannon, who has three other children, has tried to contact the manufacturer of the Crusader CT31V tumble dryer but the firm no longer exists.
She is now warning parents to check their appliances to make sure they automatically cut out if the doors are opened.
Shannon said: “It was about 3pm and I was cooking the tea when it happened.
“The tumble dryer is in the dining room along with a load of toys, and she had obviously managed to open the door while it was still going round.
“The blankets and duvet covers in there had wrapped around her tighter and tighter and were pulling her in.
“I tried to pull her out, but nothing was working.
“Her head was slowly being pulled in, and I was worried that something awful might happen, because the momentum was pulling her in.
“I grabbed her but it was still pulling at her so I flicked the power switch.
“She was screaming but it could have been awful if her head went into the fast spinning drum – she could have been very seriously injured or even worse.
“The dryer is a few years old but it had always stopped spinning when you opened the door.
“I’ve thrown the dryer out now and I’ll never have one again. Thank god she was able to cry out and warn me about what was happening.
“It’s been horrible. It’s the most horrific thing that I have ever seen in my life.
“I just couldn’t get the blankets off her quick enough, it felt like everything was just taking ages.
“The next day, we put her to bed as normal, but at around 7pm she started screaming again.
“She was shaking all over, and started vomiting repeatedly. The doctors reckon it must be some sort of seizure, perhaps brought on by shock.
“Thankfully she is all ok now and on the mend.”
The appliance, which is believed to be around ten years old, was bought second-hand from Shannon’s mum Louise Evans, 44, in 2012.
It had a safety feature which ensured it stopped spinning when the door opened, but this is believed to have malfunctioned.
Shannon has now thrown out the faulty appliance, and, along with partner A-Jay Forbes, 30, is warning fellow parents to take extra care when it comes to washing.
Craig McClue, lead officer and policy executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said: “Product safety is a serious issue and consumers need to think carefully when looking to buy older second hand appliances.
“The safety of the product will be unknown and parts of it might be failing depending on its age.
“As a precaution trading standards recommend that a thorough safety check is carried out by a qualified technician.”
