A mother said today her four-year-old son was lifted out of his push-chair and thrown 4ft into the air by a blast of oil from a recycling lorry.

As reported, five people at Simon's market stall opposite the Guildhall in Norwich were sprayed with mineral oil after the hydraulic hose on a recycling lorry run by Viridor, burst last Thursday afternoon.

Natalie Dakin, 28, and her son Tyler Holton, four, from Wymondham, were two of those affected.

Ms Dakin said: 'We were looking at the clothes and Tyler was in a pushchair. A big truck pulled up then I noticed some mist spray.

'I assumed the truck was just cleaning the road. I heard this noise and then Tyler was about 4ft up in the air as the blast threw him out of his push-chair.

'He smashed to the floor and I fell over and hurt myself. We had to strip off in the stall.

'It was horrific and so frightening going in the ambulance to hospital.

'We were released but the next day we were throwing up.

'We went to the doctors this week, as we both suffer from asthma. Tyler's not sleeping and is wetting the bed and having nightmares.

'We lost all our clothes on that day plus the shopping which was in the push-chair.'

Meanwhile, Melissa Long, 20, and her daughter Faith, who is two in May, from Lakenham, were also sprayed.

Ms Long said: 'I heard a massive bang, an explosion. I turned round to look and got covered with this hydraulic oil. If I had been any closer it would have burned, although it was not hot.

'Faith was sitting in her buggy which was pushed on its side by the blast, and she was covered in oil. 'She was screaming and crying. She had to go to hospital to get her eyes washed out. She's still got a bruise on the side of her face and having nightmares about what happened and screams when she's pushed by a shop. It really opened my eyes that life is very short and it was really scary.'

Her partner Gavin Fox, 20, was having his haircut at the time and returned to find the dramatic scene.

Meanwhile, Simon Day, 58, who owns the clothes stall on the market, lost his entire stock of clothes.

He was also sprayed with the oil, which proved to be non-hazardous, and has had to close the stall while he waits for new stock. He plans to reopen on Saturday

Viridor collects rubbish from the market on behalf of Norwich City Council twice a day, six days a week, and apologised to those affected.

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