Former The Only Way Is Essex star Chloe Lewis has launched a campaign for mandatory protective gloves for children ice skating, after her six-year-old son lost part of his finger in a New Year's Eve accident.
Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Lewis described receiving the news as 'the call that no parent ever wants to receive about their child'. Her son Beau was taken to the Royal London Hospital, where surgeons attempted to reattach the fingertip, but the procedure was unsuccessful.
'Now we're in a situation where the finger has gone back on and it hasn't survived. So yeah, he has lost the top half of his finger,' Lewis explained. She praised her son's resilience, saying he has 'taken it in his stride' and was excited to show his school friends.
Lewis's petition, which calls on the UK Government to mandate protective gloves for children ice skating, has gathered over 24,000 signatures. With more than 10,000 signatures, the Government is required to respond; if it reaches 100,000, the matter will be considered for a parliamentary debate.
Although the accident did not occur at a Planet Ice Rink, the company has announced that protective gloves will be compulsory for children under 12 at their venues from June 1. Lewis said she hopes to tell Beau that 'we changed the law' to make skating safer for other children.
