大象传媒

Tesco has stopped selling hair straighteners designed to appeal to children after X-Ray raised concerns about whether such products were appropriate for sale.

The programme found that in the run up to Christmas, a number of high-street retailers are selling a range of hair straighteners which feature images of cartoon characters including Hello Kitty, Disney鈥檚 Tinkerbell and Cinderella, and pop bands like One Direction. However, the straighteners can get as hot as those used by adults 鈥� in one case up to 235 degrees Celsius.

Speaking to X-Ray, Dai Nguyen, a consultant at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at Swansea鈥檚 Morriston Hospital revealed that since 2004, the unit has witnessed a 6-fold increase in the number of children admitted after receiving burns from hair straighteners. She explained that because they only see the most serious burns, these figures could be 鈥渢he tip of the iceberg.鈥�

The hospital does not record what type of straighteners cause the burns. Typically they are caused by adult straighteners but Dr Nguyen feels that those designed to be attractive to children could cause great harm if used unsupervised. She said:听 鈥淚鈥檓 quite horrified鈥�you wouldn鈥檛 dream of giving a child an iron to iron their hair straight and that鈥檚 essentially what you鈥檙e doing.鈥�

The programme showed some of the hair straighteners to a group of parents and children in Swansea.听 One mum commented 鈥渢hey鈥檙e definitely aimed at children鈥� with some feeling they would appeal to children as young as 4 or 5.听

All the manufacturers denied marketing these products directly to children and say the straighteners should not be used unsupervised.

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The makers of the Disney Cinderella straighteners say they go the extra mile to make sure children don鈥檛 use them unsupervised by providing a safety plug. But when X-Ray bought a pair, no safety plus was provided.

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The manufacturers of the One Direction straighteners, which were the hottest reaching 235C, say they are aimed at teenagers and adults, not young children, but the box states they can be used by anyone over the age of 8.

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X-Ray contacted Argos and Tesco who sell children鈥檚 straighteners. Both retailers said that the products they sell meet strict safety standards.

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Argos, which sells the greatest range, denied that the products are marketed directly at children although they admitted they appeal to them.听 They are now promising to improve their product descriptions to make it clearer that straighteners should not be used by children.听

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Tesco were selling a set of mini straighteners for less than ten pounds which were covered with Tinkerbell images. The box stated they were suitable for use by those aged 8 and over, but there was no indication of what temperature they could reach.听 When contacted by X-Ray, Tesco took the decision to remove the item from sale with immediate effect.

When David and Cathryn Evans-Swain鈥檚 fridge-freezer broke down, they needed it fixed quickly - what they didn鈥檛 need was a repair man who took their money and didn鈥檛 do the job.

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The couple from Penarth paid 拢273 up front to Appliance Care Wales Ltd. But a week later the firm told them the wrong parts had been delivered and they then struggled to get hold of the owner, Adrian Welke.

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Cathryn said: 鈥淚t was just really frustrating with six people in the house, three teenage boys who eat a lot. I finally got through to him 10 days after he said he would repair it.鈥�

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But there was still no sign of the work being done, and they later discovered that their repair man had been out of the country on holiday.听 After five weeks without a freezer, David and Cathryn had had enough. They headed to Pontyclun where Appliance Care Wales Ltd was supposedly based - only to be told it was no longer there. Next they went to Adrian Welke's home in Bridgend.

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David said: "It was midday - he was in his dressing gown, he looked very tanned.鈥�

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The couple wanted their money back and听 Mr Welke offered a refund.

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David said: "I asked for cash and he said he didn't have any on him."

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Instead, Adrian Welke offered to repay the 拢273 into their bank account the next week. But days later he emailed them to say Appliance Care Wales had ceased trading, and that while he still intended to pay them, he didn't know when that would be.

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He now describes himself as an ex-domestic appliance repairer and, instead, seems to be concentrating on his latest venture - a website that helps people find tradesmen in their area.听

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When X-Ray contacted Mr Welke, he apologised for what happened to Cathryn and David, and said Appliance Care Wales was forced to shut when another business went into administration, owing it more than eight thousand pounds. He's now repaid the couple all their money.

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A mother and daughter have told of their distress when their Turkish hotel closed halfway through their holiday.

Nichola and Chevon Williams, 17, had booked a 4-star all-inclusive holiday with a company called Travelsoon staying at the Sole Resort Hotel.

Nichola said: 鈥淲e'd been through a particularly difficult time, we both had to live in a women's refuge and it was something that I'd promised to my daughter at that time - to have some special time to try and get over all the bad that we'd had.鈥�

But they say there were numerous problems including a broken lift and door lock and the swimming pool was green with algae. In their room, the toilet flush was broken and a socket was hanging off the wall and the food available was 鈥渋nedible鈥�.

She said: 鈥淭hat first morning was the only morning that we ate anything and within two days they'd stopped putting food out altogether. We had to eat out.鈥�

The pair say they were also concerned by the lack of other guests as on the night they arrived, they were the only ones there, adding: 鈥淭hat scared me a little bit, no that scared me a lot actually.鈥�

A few days later, Nichola said she was shocked to see staff carrying tables from the dining room听 down the street and joked to Chevon that it looked like they were closing the hotel.
Nichola complained to travelsoon thinking they could solve everything but she hadn鈥檛 realised that the holiday wasn鈥檛 a package holiday.

听In fact, Travelsoon point out they're just an agent and don't accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong and say that that lies with the companies that have supplied each bit of the holiday. So Travelsoon had to pass on her complaint to the hotel supplier - Holiday Brokers.听 They said Nichola could move hotels but she would have to pay 拢180. She couldn鈥檛 afford that so the pair resigned themselves to sticking it out - until they were told that the hotel was closing for the season that very night.

Nichola said: 鈥淚 asked them where we were going and he just put his hands in the air as if to say 'don't know' and didn't care. I thought we were going to end up sleeping on the beach.鈥�
Nichola e-mailed Travelsoon and Holiday Brokers and finally a new hotel was arranged for the pair.

She said: 鈥淚'm sure we'll laugh at it in the future but that special time that we wanted nice memories of were shattered really.鈥�

Travelsoon told X-Ray they always tell customers they're not booking a package and say they do all they can to help. Holiday Brokers said that they had no indication that the property would be closing until the day after Nichola arrived. They were then told by the hotel itself that new accommodation would be arranged. But they admit that they should have tried to contact Nichola and Chevon directly.听 Asking them to pay that extra 拢180 to move hotels was a mistake.

They also said Nichola will get just over 拢300 they paid for their hotel back, and Holiday Brokers won't be using that hotel next summer.

Debbie Hill from Newport has always loved her home and garden but sadly over the last few years she says that enjoyment has been blighted by a large tree growing behind her home.

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Debbie suffers from severe Crohn鈥檚 disease and other medical conditions and her garden is her haven. 鈥淚 just enjoy going out there in the summer, sunbathing and pottering around,鈥� she told us, 鈥渂ut I can鈥檛 sit in the garden now and enjoy it as I should do.鈥�

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In the summer, Debbie says the large tree behind her home casts a shadow over her home and in the autumn, when the leaves start falling, the garden is a virtual no 鈥揼o area.

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鈥淭he grass gets covered in leaves and it鈥檚 so dangerous to go up there because you could slip,鈥� Debbie said, 鈥渁nd its knocked all my fence completely down and left me vulnerable to intruders.鈥�

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Debbie contacted the school behind her home where the tree is growing and although helpful they told her that it was the responsibility of Newport City Council. So Debbie tried to contact the council to get the tree taken down.

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鈥淚鈥檝e called them on numerous occasions over the last four years,鈥� Debbie told us, 鈥渂ut I鈥檝e had no response back whatsoever.鈥�
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So we got in touch on her behalf.

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Newport City Council apologised for their slow response to Debbie鈥檚 complaint听 and admitted that the tree is their responsibility. They鈥檝e agreed to remove it as soon as possible and they鈥檝e also agreed to repair the damage fence for free.

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Another case solved!