Horror electric shocks from festive lights, tumbling trees and snowy shopping disasters are just some of the terrible and sometimes fatal mishaps to strike in the wake of New Year and Christmas celebrations. Experts say this can be one of the most dangerous times of the yeat as precarious DIY decorating tasks, roaring fires and wintry weather combine to create the perfect environment for accidents to occur. With alcohol more involved in many people’s lives than usual, the risk of slips and falls resulting in an unwanted trip to A&E is also never far away. Here, we round up some of the most shocking festive season injuries:.
It sounds like something out of a bad Christmas flick - but a toppling Christmas tree can be deadly - so be careful when putting them out for the rubbish. Just last month, a young police officer was killed in South America after a huge tree fell over during a festive light switch on. Kevin Andres Navas, 19, died when the 98ft tree came down in Cundinamarca, Colombia, crushing him underneath. A similar tragedy played out at a Christmas market in Oudenaarde, Belgium, on December 22 last year, when a collapsing 20-metre (66ft) high tree fatally crushed a 63-year old woman and left two other people injured.
Faulty festive lights - including those bought from online retailers without proper safety certification - can give you a nasty electric shock, or even kill you. In the UK, around 350 people are injured each year by Christmas tree decorations, either during falls, by electric shocks and burns, or by swallowing the bulbs, as they can look like sweets to young children.
