Caroline is shocked by the dangers presented by dressing-up clothes…

Parents are being urged to throw away their children’s dressing-up costumes by the man who saved the eight year old daughter of TV presenter Claudia Winkleman, when her Halloween costume caught fire last October.

The man described how the costume kept re-igniting after it caught fire by coming into contact with a candle in a pumpkin. The material quickly became like molten plastic and proved impossible to remove from the child as it kept disintegrating.

It seems that fancy dress costumes, readily available in supermarkets for a fiver, are not subject to the same fire safety regulations as normal clothes. This is because they are classified as toys which are not subject to fire safety legislation on the basis that they can be thrown down should they catch fire – easier said than done when they are being worn by a child.

It is clear that regulations should be reviewed but until such time as the manufacturers wake up to the danger presented by these costumes, parents should perhaps vote with their feet and refuse to buy outfits which could have tragic consequences for their children.