A mother has issued an urgent warning to other families after a barbecue at the beach left her husband with severe burns.
Sarah-Jayne and Jonathan Cameron, both 35, ventured to Benone Beach on Saturday, July 17.
The Ahoghill-based parents were taking their four children and extended family for a fun day out.
Jonathan said they had lit a couple of “the bigger sized barbecues”, which they cooked food on and enjoyed. They then headed down to the sea for a splash, leaving the barbecues to cool down.
It was a couple of hours later when the father-of-four was trying to dispose of the barbecues, which he said were cold enough to lift from the sides.
But it was after moving the first barbecue that disaster struck.
‘There was just a massive layer of skin floating’
He said: “I accidentally stood on the sand where the barbecue had been sat on the sitting for two hours.
“The sand didn’t look any different, it just looked like normal sand. It wasn’t glowing, there was no steam.
“It took a couple of seconds to realise. When the message hit my brain, I jumped about five feet in the air, and just bolted down to the water.”
Jonathan said nobody quite realised what had happened, or why he had ran to the sea.
“They didn’t see anything strange or different about the sand either,” he added.
The father stayed in the sea for several minutes, trying to cool down his burning feet.
He said: “There was just a massive layer of skin floating. It was still attached to my foot but just floating in the water.”
Jonathan is struggling to walk but is just grateful he was hurt and not his children
(Image: Sarah-Jayne Cameron)
Jonathan then headed back to warn his family that the sand was still hot, but they had realised what had happened.
Doctors have since dressed the father’s wounds, but they are yet to confirm how severe the damage is.
His wife said they are “definitely second and most likely third-degree burns.”
Jonathan has been left on crutches, and the skin on his foot is “totally gone”. But he said “I’m just glad it was me” and not one of his children that was burnt by the sand.
His wife has been using social media to warn other parents about the dangers of having barbecues on the sand.
She said many have thanked her for highlighting an issue they had never considered.
Sarah-Jayne said: “A couple of families have said it has saved their kids’ feet just by seeing it [on social media].
“My advice would be not to use them on the sand on the beach, because it’s a death trap.”
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