
The 17-year-old made a grave mistake while snuggling up for a 45-minute morning drive on a typically cold British morning last Saturday (25 January).
Jess Wilson, from Middlesbrough, was on the way to a football match for her team when she placed a hot water bottle on her belly, secured below the seatbelt.
However, the warmth device broke, spilling boiling hot water all over the lower half of the teenager’s body.
The teenager was left with harrowing burns (Kennedy)
It’s not the first hot water bottle mishap in recent times either, highlighting the importance of understanding the safety instructions when purchasing one.
Jess realised after the accident that hot water bottles have an expiry date at the top, with a number in the centre of the symbol revealing its date of manufacture.
Hot water bottles should only be kept for two years, but Jess’ device actually expired in 2021, four years out of date, having been made in 2019.
In fact, the Primark water bottle came with guidelines, which state that boiling water shouldn’t be used, as it should be left to cool so that it doesn’t scald.
She was rushed to The James Cook University Hospital on the same day, where doctors popped her blisters and dressed the exposed wounds, but the teen still can’t walk despite all the treatment.
Still in the dark over long-term effects, Jess aims to get others to throw their hot water bottles away to avoid anything like this happening to anyone else.
Admitting that she was ‘freezing cold’ that morning, the teen was grateful that she decided to wear her joggers, which she barely wore, instead of shorts.

The hot water bottle split at the bottom and leaked out (Kennedy)
She recalled: “I grabbed the first hot water bottle I found, boiled the kettle, put the boiling water in, closed the bottle and took it out to the car,” admitting that she used to ‘put them in my school trousers’ to stay warm.
“I sat down and put it on my belly, with the bottom facing down. I put my seatbelt over the top of it and then it just popped everywhere, all over my thighs and intimate area.”
She added: “I just remember screaming and screaming.”
Scarily admitting that she doesn’t know if ‘it’s going to permanently scar’ as it’s too early, she described the scalding burns as ‘the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life’.
Jess claimed that ‘it’s not worth it’, saying: “I’ll never use a hot water bottle again. I’d tell people to get rid of them – it’s just not worth it.”

The student was left with horrific burns and blisters (Kennedy)
“I’ll never forget that scream she made,” her mother said, before further explaining: “99 percent of people we’ve spoken to didn’t even know the symbol on a hot water bottle meant an expiry date.”
A Primark spokesperson said: “We were really sorry to learn of this customer’s experience.
“We take the safety and the quality of our products very seriously and all our hot water bottles have been tested to, and pass the UK and European standards for safety, quality and labelling. All our hot water bottles come with user instructions on both the product label and the hot water bottle itself, which includes a warning not to use boiling water and to replace the hot water bottle every two years.
“As a responsible retailer we want to do all we can to help consumers use their hot water bottle safely, which is why we have information at point of sale in our stores and a safety guide on hot water bottle usage on our website informing customers on how to check the manufacturing date of the hot water bottle.”