A DAD has spoken of his anger after his one-year-old son suffered horrific burns from an electric shock when he touched a live wire at a playcentre.
Little Alfy Bruce grabbed the cable while playing in the area at the BALTIC art centre in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
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The live wire was connected to a TV in the middle of the centre’s Learning Lounge play area on October 30.
The toddler suffered burns to his hands after a 240-volt electrical current passed through his tiny body, Chronicle Live reports.
His dad Cory Bruce slammed as “absolutely disgusting” the “severe lack of health and safety and of care”.
Cory and Alfy’s mum Abi Gillender say the little boy was “absolutely traumatised” by the “nightmare” ordeal, and must see a skin specialist in case he needs a skin graft.
‘ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING’
The family were at a half-term play event at the BALTIC when the horrifying incident happened.
Cory, 24, told the Chronicle Live: “A lady from the BALTIC had asked me to do a survey and we were busy filling the survey out.
“But Alfy was shy so he walked behind the freestanding TV unit that’s in the middle of the floor and hid out of the way of her, being shy but playful at the same time.
“He grabbed hold of a wire that had been hanging out of the back of the TV like a raw metal cable and he was holding the TV stand at the same time, which was also metal, while he was hiding out of the way.
“I saw his feet tense up onto his tiptoes and I had a feeling something was not right.
“I ran around and he was frozen with his muscles tensed up holding on to the wire cable getting electrocuted.
I was in hysterics and pulled him off the wire and broke the circuit
Cory Bruce, Alfy’s dad
“His mouth was just wide open and he was staring into space. I was in hysterics and pulled him off the wire and broke the circuit.”
Cory said he grabbed Alfy by his jacket and not his skin otherwise he would have been electrocuted as well.
He claimed he asked staff to call an ambulance, but they refused and instead called their firstaider to check Alfy.
Alfy was referred to a burn specialists at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary and was kept on a heart monitor overnight.
‘NIGHTMARE’
The tot had two ECGs to check for internal organ damage and was placed on a heart monitor overnight, with his little hands covered in bandages after he suffered burns.
Cory, who works in construction, said: “As soon as Alfy was electrocuted there should have been a residual current detector so that it just cuts the current out as soon as there was a jump in the system – and there wasn’t.
“There is obviously a clear fault in the electrical system.”
The family has lodged a formal complaint to the BALTIC, with Cory branding the incident “absolutely disgusting”.
The image keeps playing through my head. It’s absolutely awful
Cory Bruce
He said: “There is a severe lack of health and safety and of care. It’s absolutely shocking.”
Cory continued: “It is something I thought I’d only see in nightmares. The image keeps playing through my head. It’s absolutely awful “I don’t want this happening again.”
The BALTIC has apologised for the incident, which Gateshead Council’s Environmental Health team is investigating, and said the “affected equipment” has been reomoved.
Sarah Munro, BALTIC director said: “Following his accident at BALTIC on 30 October we are staying in close contact with Alfy’s dad Cory and the family – we understand how much they will have been affected by the incident.
“This should not have happened, and I sincerely apologise that it did.
“BALTIC took urgent action. The affected equipment was removed immediately from Level 2 following the incident, which was subsequently closed to enable a detailed examination of the area by independent, expert electrical engineers. It is believed the fault related to the insulated television power cable which had breached from its restraint.
“This piece of equipment has been permanently removed from the space. Level 2 is open again as of Wednesday 10 November.”
Sun Online has contacted Gateshead Council for further comment.
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