Abi Mowbray
Children are dying because of unsafe blind cords.
On the fourth of February Harrison Joyce died when he caught his neck in a looped blind cord at his home in Staffordshire.
Just five days later 16-month-old Lillian Bagnall-Lambe died following a similiar accident.
Harrison’s Law
Now, the parents of three year old Harrison are calling for the government to take action.
The production of looped blind cords has been banned in the USA for over a decade following the deaths of hundreds of children in strangulation accidents.
Harrison’s law proposes that the UK follows suit and places a similar ban on the sale of dangerous blinds in the UK.
Accident Prevention
Speaking on the Harrison’s Law website, Roger Vincent, spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), says:
“In an ideal world manufacturers wouldn’t produce blinds and curtains with looped cords. But even if that is addressed by the manufacturers there will be millions of these in homes.
“Our advice is that parents cut the loops on the cords and try to keep them out of the reach of children.”
Safety advisors recommend cutting the cords
Personal Experience
A looped blind cord makes a perfect rope for a child’s game and a perfect noose for an adult’s nightmare.
Strangulation is silent. Last year my two year old nephew hung from a blind cord while watching television in a room with his brothers.
But my nephew was one of the lucky ones. The paramedics got to him in time. Others have not and will not be so fortunate.
Blind Cord Safety Demonstration
