Durkan backs campaign to raise awareness of children’s fire-risk fancy dress outfits

SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan has attended an awareness raising event at Westminster to highlight the potential fire risks of children’s fancy dress costumes in the run-up to Halloween.

Currently, the law classifies fancy dress costumes as toys rather than clothes meaning that they undergo far less rigorous safety tests.

However, Sainsbury’s, and other leading supermarkets have introduced more stringent testing following a campaign by the host of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, Claudia Winkleman, whose daughter, eight-year-old Mathilda, was seriously burned wearing a witches’ outfit while trick or treating.

Mr Durkan said: “I know that children in Derry and throughout the North love dressing up – particularly over the Halloween period – and this is why I am so keen to raise awareness of the dangers of open flames and fancy dress.

“I’m delighted that last year funding was made available for Trading Standards to conduct spot checks on hundreds of retailers to ensure that costumes meet safety standards. I also commend Sainsbury’s and other supermarkets for introducing more stringent safety checks and would call on others to follow suit.

“Ultimately, we need to work to close this loophole so that all manufacturers have to comply with much more stringent safety tests – and I will lobby to do this. However, with Halloween almost upon us, the key thing now is to spread the message far and wide to parents about these dangers, and I hope that this awareness raising event will help to do that.” Photo shows Mr Durkan supporting this week’s awareness raising event at Westminster to highlight the potential fire risks of children’s fancy dress costumes.