A south London boy’s life was changed forever when his sheep costume went up in flames at a school Christmas carol concert, a court heard.  

The seven-year-old boy was wearing a costume made of cotton wool when another child tripped while holding a candle, setting fire to his outfit.  

He had to be airlifted to hospital with his parents fearing he might die after he suffered burns to 45 per cent of his body.  

St Thomas Becket Catholic Primary School in Addiscombe, Croydon, was fined £35,000 on Friday (June 30) after a jury found it failed to ensure the children's safety around lit candles.  

The incident happened on December 11, 2019, when the school held a carol service at the Our Lady of the Annunciation Church. 

Prosecutor Shauna Ritchie told the court that 60 Year Three pupils, aged between seven and eight, were given 10-inch lit candles.  

As they were waiting in the hallway to begin the service the boy’s homemade sheep costume caught fire and flames engulfed him.  

His mum and dad were sat in the church waiting for the service to begin. His dad said: “Rather than see our seven-year-old in a nativity it felt like a bomb had gone off.” 

Children began to flee the church and as they did, the boy’s parents were looking for their son, the court heard.  The mum saw one of her son’s friends, who told her he was on fire, prompting her to force her way back into the church to find her son.  

They found him standing in a bucket of water screaming in pain. “I will never forget his eyes looking up at me. I will never forget his screams,” his dad said.  

News Shopper: Our Lady of the Annunciation Church on Bingham Road, where the incident took place Our Lady of the Annunciation Church on Bingham Road, where the incident took place (Image: Street view)

The boy remained in hospital for over 50 days as he underwent nine separate surgeries.  

The court was told of the life-changing nature of his injuries.  

“I protect my son from every look from a stranger when we are out together,” the father said. “I walk in front of him to protect him from the glares of others. I think of him growing older in such a cruel world.  

“It overwhelms me to think that my son will never know what a normal life is.”  

His mum said she was once quite religious but now she can’t even step foot in a church.  

His dad said: “His school, being in a position of trust and power, failed to keep him safe. He was only seven and his life has changed forever.”  

Judge Philip Bartle said of the boy’s parents: “Their love for (their son) and their dedication to his welfare shine out from all they say.  

“I acknowledge the selfless devoted care that they have given to him.”  

The court previously heard that lit candles had been used by the school for years without an incident.  

One teacher suggested they had used similar candles before, but another teacher who had been at the school for 35 years said that this was the first time they had used candles like these.  

She said they in previous years they used candles similar to a nightlight in a metal jar.  

In defence of the school, it was said that the board of governors apologised to the family and that the school has a good health and safety record. The school has since banned the use of candles.  

Judge Philip Bartle fined the state school £35,000 for breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 – more specifically for failing to properly assess the risk involved and failing to take reasonably practical steps to minimise or eliminate the risk. 

The judge also ordered that the school should pay £25,970 in prosecution costs and that victim compensation should be dealt with by the civil courts.  

Health and Safety Executive inspector Sarah Whittle said: “This was a shocking and scary incident that could have so easily been avoided.  

“Common sense alone should have been enough to see the risk.  

“Mitigation in this case would have been the substitution of wax candles for flameless ones, thereby reducing the risk to zero.  

“This was a step the school took after the incident, but by then it was far too late for a young child who will be forever affected by this.  

“The importance of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment has never been made so clear.”