Boy burned by exploding cell phone

The explosion set the boy's bed on fire, burning his legs

By Martin Bagot

COVENTRY, England — An 11-year-old boy from Coventry suffered burns to his legs when a mobile phone exploded and set fire to his bed.

Kian McCreath, of Holbrooks, woke up screaming when his brother's BlackBerry erupted into flames setting his duvet and mattress alight in the bedroom they share. The Cardinal Newman School pupil had melted plastic stuck to his legs and was put in the bath, before being taken to University Hospital.

Kian's family are now demanding BlackBerry's popular Curve 9320 mobile FROM PAGE ONE phone be recalled from shops. It belonged to Kian's brother, Mason, and was bought as a present for his 13th birthday a fortnight earlier.

Mum Sarah, 39, of St Luke's Road, Holbrooks, quickly doused the flames during the horror last Sunday. Sarah explained: "It was about 2.30am and I couldn't sleep so I came downstairs. "As I left my room I noticed Mason's phone on charge on the landing. I know the phone has an alarm he uses, so I unplugged it and plonked it on Kian's bed. "I thought nothing of it, made a cup of tea then I heard a really loud 'pop' sound. Kian started screaming at the top of his voice, shouting 'my bed's on fire!' "It was just horrific."

Dad Pete McCreath bought the mobile phone for Mason from the Vodafone shop in New Street, Birmingham. "If Sarah hadn't acted so quickly that room could have gone up in flames within minutes," Pete said. "It was just lucky she got there so quickly and that she was up at that time. It was so close. I'm shaking just talking about it. If it had been any worse I could have my sons in boxes right now. "Kian has burns to his lower legs where it exploded. It's left them mentally scarred. Kian won't even go back into his bed.room." Pete, who works as a carpenter, has kept the phone's charred remains. Mason has been offered a replacement phone by Vodafone. Pete says he had a video conference with manufacturers who produce BlackBerry phones - Research in Motion - over his concerns.

"I couldn't believe it," he added. "What I want now is for them to recall all these phones. That phone is dangerous and it needs to be tested. A lot of the kids are raving about that BlackBerry phone right now. "My main concern is the safety of other kids." Sarah, who works as an admin assistant, continued: "The whole thing was absolutely terrifying. The whole of his mattress and about a third of his quilt has been burnt away. "I keep thinking what would have happened if I had been in bed and the phone had set alight on the landing. I worry that the house could have burnt down." A spokesman from RIM said: "We take claims of this nature very seriously and are investigating this matter as a priority."

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