Ms Powell was left badly injured after the water bottle exploded (Picture: Media Wales)
A mum whose hot water bottle exploded on her after she filled it with boiling water was so traumatised she is now too scared to pour a kettle.
Helen Powell, 45, was suffering with back pain, and used a hot water bottle to try and soothe her aches.
But Ms Powell, from Brynamman, Carmarthenshire, made the mistake of filling the water bottle with boiling water.
She was left screaming in agony when it exploded, scalding her bottom and legs.
Ms Powell was rushed to hospital by her daughter, and the skin started peeling off the back of her legs.
Ms Powell said she will ‘never forget it for the rest of my life’ after suffering horrific burns.
Ms Powell was left with ‘horrendous’ burns (Picture: Media Wales)
Helen Cowell was left with burns after using a hot water bottlevthat perished (Picture: Media Wales)
She said: ‘I just remember being in a room in the intensive care unit and don’t remember much else, just the pain.
‘It’s not just a little burn, it’s horrendous. I couldn’t walk properly for a while, because of the nerve damage in my legs, and had to use a Zimmer frame.’
The accident resulted in severe scarring.
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‘All inside my legs, my buttocks and the back of my calves,’ Ms Powell said.
‘And it may never go away. If I wear shorts it’s very visible. Horrible, crumpled, crusty and dry. That upsets me too, but it could have been my face.’
The accident has left Ms Powell traumatised and scared of hot water.
She said: ‘ I can’t have a bath, I’m too scared. I have to have a lukewarm shower. If I’m boiling potatoes or veg I can’t drain them. My daughter has to do all that. I won’t pour a kettle.
‘People don’t think about these things.
‘The fear of a boiling kettle – I couldn’t drink coffee or a cup of tea for nearly three months because of the fear. That’s how it has affected me.’
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A mum has issued a serious warning after the freak accident left her badly scarred.