Molten plastic ‘melts into girl’s skin’ after boy kicked burning lighter at her
A 13-year-old girl suffered horrific burns after a boy dropped a lighter in a fire and kicked pieces of molten plastic at her legs.
Alyssia-Rae Yates screamed when the red-hot synthetic materials ‘melted through her skin’ in the unprovoked attack.
The keen rugby player was walking on a playing field in St Helens, Merseyside, on October 11 with a group of friends when she came across the lad making a fire.
But as she was moving away from the 3ft high blaze – which was created with pieces of plastic – the boy threw a lighter in and smashed the embers towards her.
Alyssia’s mum, Laura Hutton, 36, called for an ambulance to take her to a hospital after her injured daughter was helped home by a friend.
In the weeks since, she’s been forced to wear badges as burn marks are still across her legs.
Speaking about the incident, Alyssia said: ‘It was really unexpected, I didn’t think anything would happen. It was a big shock.
‘I immediately went to the ground and screamed. When I dropped to the floor, the plastic was melting into my skin.
‘It was just going deeper and deeper at that point. It was just going straight through. My friends were trying to pat it down, but then they realised it wouldn’t come off. So they took me home.
‘In the ambulance, my legs were still red and I was shaking a lot because of the shock of it happening. When I got to the hospital and they were cleaning them, it was very painful as they had to go really deep in. He could have lit me on fire, basically.’
Merseyside Police said they have so far not made any arrests and are continuing to investigate the incident.
Laura said her daughter was ‘chilling’ with friends on Blackbrook playing fields, close to her home in St Helens, when the incident unfolded at around 6pm.
And she believed that the suspect, who is thought to be 11 years old, had deliberately kicked the pieces of molten plastic towards her.
Laura said: ‘As Alyssia has moved to join her friend to get past, the boy has dropped a lighter into the fire and then kicked the fire directly at her.
‘At this point, the fire was between two and three feet high. From where the fire has been built, it’s a full 360-degree circle. He could have kicked it in any direction, but he’s kicked it at her.
‘Then one of the friends, her rugby friends, has carried her part way home. It’s only a five-minute journey from where she was to the house.’
Laura said when she first saw Alyssia following the attack, she thought her legs were muddy from playing sports.
But as soon as she found out the black marks were burns, she immediately put her into a shower and tried to soothe her injuries.
Laura said: ‘I thought she had been playing rugby or something, her legs were black. She was crying and trying to tell me she had been on fire.
‘And at that point, I just put her in the bath and just started putting cold water on her for 15 to 20 minutes, trying to cool her legs down.
‘Then her friend was telling me it was plastic, and I realised nothing was coming away from her legs. So at that point, I phoned the ambulance.’
After Alyssia was blue-lighted to a nearby hospital, she underwent the painful process of having the plastic removed from her skin.
She has since returned to the medical unit to have further dressings and said she wants her attacker to face legal proceedings.
Inspector Josh Griffiths from Merseyside Police appealed for witnesses following the shocking incident.
He said: ‘Our inquiries continue and I’d encourage anyone with information to come forward as soon as possible.
‘This was a concerning incident and officers will be speaking to the victim and her family to offer support.
‘Lighting fires can have catastrophic consequences and we work closely with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service throughout the year to respond to such incidents, and to educate young people about the dangers.’
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