A DAD is calling for a ban on cheap flimsy cigarette lighters after his 12-year-old daughter suffered horrific burns.

Rebecca Lowe is still in the burns unit at Booth Hall Children's Hospital after the lighter set her clothes on fire and engulfed her body in flames.

The horrific incident happened at Rebecca's home in Sandy Lane, Hindley, more than a week ago and distraught dad, Mark Lowe is calling on the Government to take action to stop the sale of the flimsy perspex lighters.

Mr Lowe wants all shopkeepers to stop selling the lighters and says he has already persuaded some local traders.

But he says the only way to prevent further tragedies is to ban them altogether. He says he is particularly concerned about lighters sold six for a pound by street traders. Many of them come from abroad and are not fitted with a "return valve" turning them into potential flame throwers.

He wants Trading Standards officers to step up monitoring of the safety standards of lighters sold in shops.

He is worried that children can easily get access to the lighters and abuse them. He said there is currently a craze in which youngsters "bomb" the lighters with a house brick causing them to explode.

Mr Lowe said he had no idea how Rebecca got hold of the lighter but is determined they will be prevented from getting into the hands of other youngsters.

He said: "There is no way I want any parent to go through what we have been through. It was absolutely horrific.

"These things are dangerous anyway and should not be able to get into the hands of children."

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents called for cheap lighters to be banned in 1996 because of a number of incidents in which people suffered serious burns.

Trading Standards Officer, Alan Blundell, said: "We do carry out tests on lighters like this and remove unsafe items from sale and we will continue to do that. It is illegal to sell any lighter which does not meet the minimum safety requirements."

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