A schoolboy who was left scarred after stepping on a disposed barbecue on the beach has overcome his fear to walk on the sand again unaided.
Will Tyler, 11, had to have skin grafts from his right thigh to his left foot after stepping on a hot piece of sand at Formby Beach, Liverpool, two years ago.
Following the terrifying ordeal, Will has been left with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and until recently he wore special UV shoes to protect his skin from the scorching temperatures.
However this week, the lad found the courage to walk on the sand without his footwear.
His dad, Toby, 52, told Manchester Evening News : "He was delighted to walk on the beach for the first time unaided, without the shoes, since the accident.
"It was a really lovely moment for him and us as a family. I think we didn't realise it at the time but it was a big moment in William's journey.
"He was apprehensive initially. It wasn't a particularly sunny and warm day, it was just cloudy, so he decided to walk on the sand without the shoes. In addition to the physical injuries, it has affected William mentally as well and so this was a big achievement."
Will still goes back to the hospital every six to eight weeks for checks, which will continue until he stops growing.
Mr Tyler says his son struggles more with his mental health.
The teacher continued: "He recalls the skin grafts as more traumatic than the accident itself.
"He gets terrible separation anxiety because when he was in hospital initially it was in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and so he was essentially locked in isolation with just his mum, Claire.
"He was in the burns unit at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for nine nights. Doctors thought he had PTSD as a result of the trauma. He has had quite severe problems since it.
"He has suffered from quite bad anxiety attacks. He has to wear the compression sock all the time, including at school and in swimming and PE.
“He has massages twice a day, a splint as well as frequent and regular visits to the hospital’s burns unit and psychosocial support unit."
The lad recently backed a campaign to ban disposable barbecues in the UK.
The dad says the kits are dangerous and harmful to the environment.
Mr Tyler added: "There have been significant levels of concern about this recently. They are damaging to the environment and wasteful as single-use materials.
"Then there's the human side. William is by no means the only child who has suffered as it is constantly going on. There's the girl in Swansea and a similar accident in Scotland since then. William is not alone and it'll happen again.
"There are few reasons not to use them and there are better alternatives. They cause fires and children get injured. We want them completely banned. It's not anti barbecue though, it is anti these units.
" Aldi and Waitrose stopped selling them for these reasons so that was quite a significant step really. We want to call on other retailers to do the same but really the government should take action.
"William's accident happened on what should have been a nice family day out, at the time when we were finally allowed out further than our local area during the pandemic."
More than one million disposable barbecues end up in landfills every year.
Brian George, a chef dubbed the Grillmaster, who founded the National BBQ Week, said: "We have been calling for retailers to Ditch the Disposable since 2020 and this is a prime example of the dire need for a nationwide ban.
“They may be cheap to buy but they have a heavy environmental price. Whilst some national retailers have already put partial bans in place, it’s simple not enough, retailers need to enforce a complete ban or else the UK government needs to step in to enforce a ban.
"In the meantime, I would encourage shoppers to send them a clear message not to buy them and that they have no place on shop shelves in 2022.
“As we’ve said many, many times, Ditch the Disposable.”
A Defra spokesperson told The Mirror: "We encourage people to responsibly dispose of barbecues to help protect human health, wildlife and our environment.
"We are commissioning research to examine the impact of barbecues and other flammable items on our environment.”
