Published: Wednesday, 3rd June, 2009 12:57pm

Sheriff wants ban on loop cords to prevent further tragic deaths

by Nicola Findlay

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Muireann's parents Angus and Kate McLaughlin have welcomed the findings of Sheriff David Mackie and have called for a major publicity campaign to highlight the dangers of loop cords.

A SHERIFF has called for a ban on loop cord blinds after a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the tragic death of Menstrie toddler Muireann McLaughlin.

Alloa Sheriff David Mackie made his ruling after hearing evidence at the FAI, and called for a ban on loop cord blinds which he said posed a 'deadly risk of strangulation'.

He also called for a concerted public campaign to raise awareness of the dangers posed by looped blinds so that Muireann"s untimely death wouldn"t be in vain.

Muireann"s parents Angus and Katie McLaughlin have welcomed Sheriff Mackie"s ruling and hope it will be a further step towards banning loop cords, something they have been campaigning for ever since Muireann"s tragic death.

They told the Advertiser, 'We are very happy with Sheriff Mackie"s determination and it is obvious he has taken a lot of time and care going into meticulous detail. It is certainly a big step forward.

'Whilst we are delighted that the sheriff recommends considering a ban, even if it is brought in, these loop cords will be in people"s homes for decades to come and there is a big publicity campaign needed.

'We have spoken to friends and neighbours and there is still a mentality that 'it won"t happen to us", so the message needs to get out there. We never thought that this sort of things would happen to us but it did.

'The FAI was a harrowing experience for us but we are satisfied that we came through it and are here to talk about it. Although progress will be in small steps we have a long journey ahead and we are confident that these recommendations will make a difference.

'At the end of the day we are just two ordinary people who want to make sure this doesn"t happen to anyone else as we wouldn"t wish it on our worst enemy.'

The couple also welcomed Sheriff Mackie"s recommendations that the regulating of the blind industry should be mandatory rather than voluntary to ensure that everyone – manufacturers, suppliers and those fitting the products – maintain an acceptable level of competency and safety knowledge.

Angus and Katie are currently in talks with a celebrity couple to front their campaign and, as well as the support of Gordon Banks MP, they have also been working with the Earl of Mar and Kellie who raised the question as to whether Sheriff Mackie"s recommendations would be implemented.

During the FAI, Angus and Katie gave evidence on the tragic events of 5 February last year, which saw two-and-a-half-year-old Muireann become tangled in a blind cord whilst waving goodbye to her grandmother, Beryl Searle, who had been baby sitting.

Angus also spoke of his desperate attempts to resuscitate little Muireann after he found her hanging from the blind cord in her brother Cian"s room.

And Katie, who was pregnant at the time, spoke of how she returned to the family"s Clifford Park home after a hospital appointment to be confronted by Muireann"s sister Eoife who was screaming.

She then rushed upstairs to find Angus, a senior radiographer, administering CPR to their lifeless daughter and she immediately called 999 and remained on the line until paramedics arrived.

Despite the desperate attempts to save Muireann, both at the family"s home and at Stirling Royal Infirmary, there was no response and the tot was pronounced dead.

Evidence from a pathologist suggested that Muireann somehow managed to climb to a height which meant her neck became entangled in the blind cord and that she then slipped, hitting her jaw against the window ledge with such force that she was rendered unconscious or severely dazed, and possibly died within 15 or 20 seconds.

The FAI also heard from Dr Gordon Heywood, who is an expert in public safety. He told the inqury that as little as £1 could save a child"s life by simply installing a hook or something similar to keep the cords out of the reach of children, particularly those under four years of age.

However, he said that loop cord blinds were inherently dangerous and unless there was a concerted effort by government agencies and local authorities to raise public awareness more children would die as a result of looped blind cords.

In his written determination Sheriff Mackie said, 'There is a simply but deadly risk of strangulation associated with looped blind cords, especially for children aged under four.

'Since 1990 the incidence of deaths of children mainly under four by strangulation associated with blind cords has been one per year.

'At the date of the accident leading to Muireann"s untimely death the strangulation risk associated with free hanging looped blind cords was well known and well understood in the USA, Canada and Australia.

'The hazard was equally known and understood in the UK, by those engaged in ensuring product safety such as the DTI and the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), as significant portion of those whose commercial business it was to manufacture, supply and install window blinds, namely those who were members of the BBSA, the relevant trade association, and by those in the voluntary sector having a concern regarding product safety or the prevention of accident such as RoSPA and CAPT.'

Sheriff Mackie went on to say that unlike the USA and Canada, there had been no widespread campaigns in this country and that as a 'result of bureaucratic delays at European level revised safety standards had been slow'.

He called for tighter regulation to govern the design, manufacture, supply and installation of window blinds, including the banning of looped blind cords, safety warnings on outer packaging and the use of safety devices such as the use of plastic connectors or cord tidy or tension device.

Sheriff Mackie added, 'These precautions will be of no avail, however, if manufacturers, suppliers, fitters and, most of all, the public are unaware of the risk of strangulation posed by free hanging looped blind cords.

'Many homes already have blind cords fitted and in place for many years. Homes where there are no young children and no obvious danger can become the homes of such children.

'The replacement of many thousands of existing blinds and blind cords will take decades. The need for public awareness is, therefore, paramount.

'The strongest recommendation is that there is consideration to promoting a co-ordinated, repeated publicity campaign in order to raise public awareness of this hazard.

'It strikes mercifully rarely but it does so randomly and indiscriminately with potentially lethal consequences.'

Ochil and South Perthshire MP Gordon Banks has welcomed the ruling by Sheriff Mackie and he has been working closely with the McLaughlin family to put pressure on Government and European partners for tighter regulation on the blind industry to ensure these events are never repeated.

The ruling follows a year-long campaign launched by the Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser and led by Mr Banks who has already held a debate in the House of Commons on this issue and met Government Ministers and officials to ensure that tighter regulations are introduced.

The MP has also been in contact with the Engineering Schools of Scottish Universities to look at possible ways that blinds can be operated without the need for a looped cord system.

Speaking after the sheriff"s ruling, Mr Banks said, 'I welcome Sheriff Mackie"s determination which will bring this issue into sharper focus for the blind industry who must take urgent action to ensure that no more lives are lost in this way.

'I will continue to pressure Ministers to ensure that we move very quickly to a position where we comply with the recommendations put forward by Sheriff Mackie.

'Government cannot solve this problem alone and I expect that the blind industry and our European partners will place a much higher emphasis on tackling this issue in light of today"s determination.

'It would be much easier if the blind industry moved to address this situation on a voluntary basis, but if they are not prepared to do that then we must bring all possible pressure to bear on them to make the necessary changes.

'Any positive steps we take on this issue will be very scant consolation to the McLaughlin family but we must do all we can to ensure that no other family experiences the loss of a child in this horrific way.

'Every day that passes without action puts more and more children"s lives at risk and as well as calling for change in the industry, we need to make every single household in the UK aware of the dangers of these cords.'