Firefighters issue warning over the dangers of children playing with garden hoses

Firefighters from America have issued an urgent warning to parents as several children have experienced severe burns from the non-flowing water which sits in the hose pipes.

Although the UK rarely reaches the same soaring temperatures that are seen in other parts of the world, we have seem some of the warmest weather in our history over the past few months.

With a heatwave predicted for a hotter than average British summer, the US firefighters warning is still an important message for UK parents to take note of

Posting on Twitter the Las Vegas FireRescue wrote: 'Here in Las Vegas, a garden hose exposed to direct sunlight during summer can heat the water inside the hose (not flowing) to 130-140 degrees which can cause burns especially to children & animals.'

The firefighters stress that you should check the water before spraying it on children or animals and let it run for a few minutes before if possible.

The toddler photographed is from Arizona and is thought to have been accidentally sprayed with the hose by his mother when she was trying to fill up the paddling pool.

According to AzFamily.com nine-month-old Nicholas Woodger suffered second-degree burns on 30 per cent of his body. They report that Nicholas's mother, Dominique Woodger, wanted to share the picture of her son to raise awareness and stop other parents from having to experience what she had.

It's always best to let the hose run for a few minutes before letting your children play with it and don't let them play with it unsupervised.

The firefighters later added that it is understandable many parents wouldn't consider the water in the hose as a risk but every one should take precautions.

They wrote: 'This is something that MOST people don't think of. It should be used on children, adults, pets and plants. It like securing furniture to the wall so it will fall over. How many people do that? A simple dresser can fall over trapping kids.'