Gary, 7, survives dry spin ordeal

Gary Purvis was playing hide and seek with his younger brother and thought the drier would be the perfect place to hide.

ALIVE: Little Gary and the drier.

But the game of fun almost ended in tragedy when four-year-old Robson shutthe door and the machine started up - leaving Gary, seven, with multiple burns.

Parents Ian and Lynn Purvis heard Robson's screams and muffled crying from Gary.

At first, they thought the boys were fighting, but when they went to investigate, they were horrified to find Gary turning around inside the machine.

Mr Purvis, 46, a chef, said: "I heard the drier going round. Gary had climbed in, and his brother Robson had closed the door and turned it on.

"I could actually see him going round and round. I just yanked the door open, and pulled him out straight away."

The swift action from Mr Purvis and paramedics prevented Gary being left with serious scarring.

Hide-and-seek

The drier was at the top of the stairs in a cupboard because there was no room in the kitchen for it at the family home in Teams, Gateshead.

Earlier the boy's older brother Liam, 12, had dried his tracksuit bottoms inthe machine before going out to a local youth club and had left the door open with the machine switched on.

Gary said: "We were playing hide-and-seek, and it looked like a really good place to hide.

"I just squeezed myself inside and next thing I knew it started spinning around. I was shouting for help and banging my hand against the glass. It was really scary."

The boy suffered severe friction burns and still needs to undergo more hospital treatment for his injuries.

Roger Vincent, from safety campaign group RoSPA, said all parents should be aware of the dangers tumble dryers pose.

"I have heard of at least two deaths of children getting into tumble driers and it shows how dangerous they are.

"Although tumble driers look harmless they pose a real danger to small children and they are not play things," he said.

"Parents need to be aware of this."

Last year three-year-old Georgina Bywater died of asphyxia after climbing into a tumble drier with her pet kitten. She was trapped at her home in Brierley Hill, West Midlands.

In 1999, seven-week-old Joshua Trowles died from head injuries after being put inside a tumble drier by his older sister at their home in Teddington, Middlesex.

Source