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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Hannah Phillips & Ryan Fahey

Disney fan's urgent op after B&M glass explodes leaving shards in mouth and tummy

A woman needed surgery to remove shards of razor-sharp glass from her mouth and stomach after a Disney-themed glass bought from B&M exploded in her face as she drank from it, she claims.

Lauren Perks, from Barking, East London, was washing down a tablet with a glass of water on Thursday when she says the cup from the discount retailer suddenly shattered.

The 24-year-old tried to spit out chunks of glass but was horrified when she felt a piece lodged in her chest that she had gulped down with her pill.

Lauren and her fiancé, Kelly, 24, rushed to A&E where x-rays revealed she had swallowed several different sized pieces that may have been "tearing her insides" on the way down her gullet into her stomach.

Lauren, who is unemployed due to a disability, was put under general anaesthetic for two hours while medics picked fragments of glass from her stomach by inserting a tube down her throat.

She was trying to swallow a tablet when it exploded in her face (Kennedy News and Media)
She realised she had swallowed some with her tablet after she felt a stabbing pain in her chest (Kennedy News and Media)

Lauren said: "It's literally such a freak accident. I was just having a drink.

"I took the glass out of the cupboard and poured myself a glass of water. As I was drinking it, the glass literally exploded and shattered in my face.

"As I swallowed the tablet, I swallowed the glass as well. There was glass all in my mouth so I spat it out but I was bleeding.

"Kelly came running in to see what the smashing noise was. She saw the blood in my mouth and the glass everywhere.

She was gifted the Disney-themed glasses at Christmas (Kennedy News and Media)
Doctors put her under anaesthetic for two hours as they carried out intricate surgery to remove the razor-sharp shards from her stomach (Kennedy News and Media)

"I wasn't in pain at first, I was just in shock. It was so unexpected and I was really upset so I was crying.

"Then a couple of minutes later, my chest started to hurt. I knew I'd swallowed some so we went to A&E. I had quite a few pieces in there and when they removed them the doctors said there were more than expected.

"They said if they couldn't get all the pieces out with the tube then they'd have to cut me open but luckily it worked.

"They were worried the glass could have been tearing my insides. Then I had to stay in hospital for three days because they didn't know if the glass had caused damage on the way up."

She was hospitalised for three days until medics were certain that the glass hadn't caused any internal damage and is taking medication to strengthen her stomach lining.

Disney fan Lauren, who had been given the set of two glasses for Christmas, has since binned the other and refused to drink out of glass cups since.

Lauren said: "I've been second guessing myself, wondering if I did something wrong, if I'd put the hot tap on instead of cold but the water was definitely cold.

"The glasses weren't knocked after they were given to me, they were perfectly fine. I just can't think of a reason it would explode like that."

Lauren says she's been in touch with B&M to complain who have asked for a photo of the receipt and a sample of the glass to help them investigate.

Lauren said: "I don't want money or anything, I just want the glasses recalled. They're Disney-themed so kids will be using them.

"I'm still in pain, I'm still sore, my belly hurts and I'm scared to use glasses, I've only used plastic cups since."

A B&M spokesperson said: "We are aware of this and we're currently waiting for the customer to get back to us so we can investigate further."

The Mirror has contacted B&M for further comment.

Disney said the glasses are a 'licensed product' that are created, manufactured and distributed by a third party company

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