Local authority fined after child suffers chemical burns

Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, the local authority which covers the Western Isles, was today fined after a boy suffered chemical burns.

Stornoway Sheriff Court heard how, on 11 July 2017, employees of the local authority had cleaned the slipway and steps of the pier at Valtos Pier in Uig using sodium hypochlorite. Later that day, two children were crabbing and lying on the steps of the pier, when one of the children felt a stinging sensation across his left leg. The child noticed a white substance on his trousers and his skin had developed red and brown patches. The children returned to their holiday home and the child was showered by his mother before he was taken to hospital by his father. The hospital confirmed the child had sustained a chemical burn from the sodium hypochlorite.

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