Tot almost loses her EYE after tripping and falling into a plastic tub while playing
Lexie Meredith, three, suffered horrific injuries after she tripped and fell onto the Asda storage box while dancing in her family's front room
A TODDLER was almost blinded after smashing head first through a plastic tub while playing at home.
Lexie Meredith suffered horrific injuries after she tripped and fell onto the storage box.
She was rushed to hospital with blood pouring from a gaping wound just millimetres below her left eye.
The three-year-old, who could be scarred for life, had been playing with her family in their front room when the accident happened.
Devastated mum Lisa Speakman, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, told The Sun Online: “My partner heard screaming and came running into the front room and saw her holding her face and blood dripping everywhere.”
“There was a massive gash just a few millimetres below her eye. The tub had totally shattered.
“I was at my mum’s house and he called me to say she had sliced her eye but I thought he must be overreacting and it was going to be a small cut.
“But when I saw her it was a massive gash I panicked.”
Lexie was taken to A&E on April 6 before being transferred to Manchester Children’s Hospital where she had three stitches under anaesthetic.
Lisa said: “I deal with blood ok but when it’s your own child it’s horrible. I was shaking.
“I had to leave the room as I thought I was going to be sick.
“Hearing her screaming and in so much pain as nurses tried to clean the wound, it was hard to take.
“It was bleeding for two hours and she was crying. When they put her to sleep it was difficult seeing her lifeless.”
Full-time mum Lisa has called for the boxes to be pulled from shelves over fears a child could be blinded.
She added: “Lexie was so lucky that it didn’t happen a few millimetres further up because she would have lost her eye.”
“She doesn’t weigh a lot and it should be safe for kids.
“I don’t want another parent or child to have to go through this.”
Asda sent the 60L flip lid storage box for testing and deemed it to be safe.
In a letter to Lisa, the supermarket giant said: “The box was carefully examined and found to be within specification.
“Our technical team tested a number of these boxes and, unfortunately, they were unable to replicate the situation you described to us.”
An Asda spokesperson told The Sun Online: “We take product safety very seriously and fully investigate any issues.
“We have received no other complaints of this nature, and can only apologise for any distress caused to Ms Speakman and her daughter.”