Mum urges parents to check their tumble dryers after toddler seriously injured

toddler, died, tumble dryer

by Emma Dodds |
Updated on

Derby toddler Iiylah-Louise is lucky to be alive after an accident with the tumble dryer at home meant she nearly lost her life.

The 23-month-old was taken to hospital where she received treatment for tissue damage to the fingers on her right hand, but mum Shannon, 24, said it could have been a lot worse.

Mum-of-four Shannon, from Somercotes near Derby, was cooking dinner in her kitchen last Wednesday when she heard the screams of her young child.

WATCH: Shannon explains how her 23-month-old daughter nearly lost her life after an accident with the tumble dryer

She ran to find out what the problem was - and what she saw horrified her.

Little Iiylah was being sucked into the tumble dryer, her head perilously close to getting trapped inside the drum.

Panicked Shannon was able to think quickly in the horrific moment, and managed to turn the machine off at the wall before Iiylah was seriously hurt.

She has tried to contact the manufacturer of the machine, but the company no longer exists - so she is warning parents to ensure their own tumble dryers stop automatically when the door opens.

toddler, tumble dryer
©SWNS

She explained what 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.

"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."

toddler, tumble dryer
©SWNS

Shannon admitted that she has been left traumatised by the accident: "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."

tumble dryer, toddler
©SWNS

Shannon explained how the dryer, which she bought off her mum in 2012, did have a safety feature which stopped the dryer when the door opened, but she thinks this malfunctioned.

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."

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