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Woman Left With Back 'Like Pork Scratchings' After Horrendous Sun Burn

Woman Left With Back 'Like Pork Scratchings' After Horrendous Sun Burn

Be careful with the sunscreen.

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A woman says she was left with second degree burns and a back that looked like 'pork scratchings' after getting burnt while wearing sun cream.

Melissa Wrigley was on holiday in Gran Canaria with her partner when she got severely scorched on the last day, despite the fact she claims she applied factor 30 sun cream every 45 minutes.

The photos of the 21-year-old's sunburnt skin are pretty horrific. Her skin turned bright red, before blistering and then eventually cracked - leaving it looking like 'pork scratchings'.

She had to make a trip to A&E when she was back in the UK, where a nurse told her she had second degree burns.

Credit: Mercury Press

Melissa said: "I didn't feel anything to start with, then we went out to a bar and my back started to get really painful.

"I went back to my sister Donna's house and had a cold shower to wash it off. I got her to put some after-sun on it - she said it felt a bit warm and lumpy. Later the feeling was unbearable, I couldn't even dress myself. It was even painful to move."

Melissa said her other half, Tom, applied the Boots Soltan spray on her back, while they sat in the sun for a couple of hours, and that he slapped it on every 45 minutes.

Credit: Mercury Press

She added: "It was probably for the best that I couldn't see it. I think I was just scared of what I was going to see. I was so worried I waited until I got home.

"I was horrified when I saw it - it looked just like pork scratchings - it was disgusting. I was thinking, 'my God, I'm going to be scarred because it's that deep'. I was just worried it would be like that forever.

Credit: Mercury Press

"I have freckles and moles - I didn't really remember having them before but I've been paying more attention to them now."

Melissa said she contacted Boots to complain and claims she was only offered £25 worth of loyalty card points. She said someone from the company told her it wouldn't be possible to investigate her claims, as she no longer had the bottle of sun cream.

A Boots UK spokesman said: "We are very sorry to hear about this incident.

"We take the safety and well being of our customers very seriously and the quality and safety of our products is of the utmost importance to us.

Credit: Mercury Press

"We have always been committed to protecting our customers' skin from the sun and our products are rigorously and independently tested to ensure they are safe and effective.

"In hot, sunny conditions like the ones we are forecast to experience over the coming days, may we remind customers to always follow safe sun guidelines by minimising time in the sun, seeking shade and using a cover-up, ensuring they use the correct strength sun protection for their skin type and the climate in which it will be used, as well as following the instructions for use."

Featured Image Credit: Mercury Press