Man left with severe burns after Irn Bru bottle full of acid bursts in his pocket

A man from Normanton has been left with permanent scarring after his leg was soaked in sulphuric acid.

Mark Mellard, 46, needed two skin grafts after a bottle burst in his pocket - he was unaware that a colleague, John Campey, had filled it with the acid.

After feeling his leg burning, Mr Mellard removed it and threw it away before rushing to the toilets where he put cold water on his leg.

The pain stopped as his nerve endings were damaged, so Mr Mellard went home and walked the dog before going to hospital where he was treated for severe burns.

Campey has now pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching Health and Safety regulations and sentenced to a community punishment order.

Mr Mellard and Campey, from Castleford, have both lost their jobs since the incident on June 20 last year.

Campey was a representative of the company's Health and Safety committee and had undergone Care Of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) training.

Mark Monaghan, defending, said the sulphuric acid had only been in use at the facility for a week, replacing a weaker drain cleaner which had been previously used.

Magistrates ordered Campey to carry out 60 hours unpaid work in the community and to pay £300 towards prosecution costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

The court heard a civil action was also underway, over the matter of compensation for the injured man.

Despite trying desperately to clean the acid from him leg, Mark was left with severe burns.

He spent nearly ten days in hospital, where he spent time in a decontamination room and needed a skin graft.

When Mark tried to return to work, he found himself suspended, without sick pay, before eventually being sacked.

Mark hasn't seen or heard from Campey since the accident, but doesn't blame him for what happened.

Almost a year on from the accident, Mark still has a constant reminder of the injuries he suffered.