Stop Blind Cords
After a number of deaths including that of a Staffordshire toddler, The Royal Prevention of Accidents is expanding its nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of them.
Since 1999, 15 children have died in this way including 3 year old Harrison Joyce was watching his cartoons at his home in Lichfield on the 4th of February 2010 when his mum came in to find him tangled up in the chord.
Five days later 16 month old Lilian Bagnall-Lambe was killed in a similar incident in Stafford.
Harrison Joyce's father Scott told Heart their lives "will never be the same again" following the death of their son.
Detective Inspector Vicky Roberts, from Staffordshire Police, said: "These heart-breaking accidents highlight the dangers that are present in homes.
"It is vital that parents do all they can to make their properties as safe as possible for their young children. We would urge them to go around their home looking at all potential risks and thinking about how to reduce the danger posed by what may, on the surface, appear to be innocuous items."
It's now Harrison's families ongoing commitment to get these type of chorded systems banned from manufacture in the world.
They've set up a campaign called Harrisons Law in which they're getting a petition together and taking it to Parliament to get the law changed, and these blinds banned.
These types of chords have been banned from production in the USA following the deaths of more than 350 children between 1985 and 1995.
They now want the United Kingdom to cease the manufacture of these and follow in the footsteps of America.
RoSPA’s advice to families is:
- Install cordless blinds, particularly in a child’s bedroom, where most deaths have happened
- Do not place a child’s cot, bed, playpen or highchair near a window
- Pull-cords on curtains and blinds should be kept short and out of reach
- Tie up the cords or use one of the many cleats, cord tidies, clips or ties that are available
- Do not hang toys or objects that could be a hazard, on the cot or bed
- Don’t hang drawstring bags where a small child could become tangled in the loop.