A former tanning salon owner has been jailed after a 15-year-old girl suffered severe burns and permanent scarring from a faulty sunbed at his Middlesbrough business. Ryan Sihra, 26, ran Abyss Tanning Studio on Linthorpe Road, where the teenager used a sunbed that had exposed tubes and lacked an emergency cord, despite being marked as out of use.
The girl collapsed during her second eight-minute session in June 2022 and sustained extensive burns to her face, arms, legs, and right shoulder, requiring plastic surgery. She described the ordeal as '14 minutes that changed my life' and said she still suffers from anxiety and suicidal thoughts. The business failed to check her age or skin type, and she was underage.
Prosecutor Thomas Durance told Teesside Magistrates' Court that the sunbed was 'very unsafe' and its tubes were 'way out of tolerance'. Council officers had previously visited the salon after a complaint about beds being too hot, finding half of the six beds out of use or failing inspection. No log of refusals for under-18s was kept.
Sihra claimed he was on holiday at the time and that an 'out of order' sign had been removed. He admitted two charges under health and safety regulations, his first conviction. His defence said he had ADHD and struggled to manage the business, but he accepted full responsibility.
The court heard that the girl's treatment is still ongoing nearly three years later, and she will carry permanent scars. Sihra was sentenced to immediate imprisonment, though the exact term was not specified in the source.
