A tanning salon owner has been jailed after a teenager suffered horrific burns while using a sun bed.
Pics 1–3: A 15-year-old girl sustained severe burns to her face, shoulder, and legs after losing consciousness on a sunbed. The incident occurred due to the business’s failure to carry out proper age verification and safety checks.
Pics 4 & 5: Environmental Health Officers found multiple safety violations during their inspection of the equipment at Abyss Tanning Studio, including the absence of an emergency cord and missing safety guards on the sunbed tubes.
Ryan Sihra was given a 20-week prison sentence after admitting failing to carry out statutory age and safety checks at the business on Middlesbrough’s Linthorpe Road.
The teenager later described her ordeal as ‘14 minutes that changed my life’, and Environmental Health chiefs have urged members of the public to be aware of the dangers.
Teesside Magistrates’ Court heard how the 15-year-old visited the Abyss Tanning Studio in June, 2022 when she was allowed to use a sunbed for a second time in two days with no checks carried out on her age or skin type.
On her second visit she was given a 14-minute session, but fainted after eight minutes, lying against the tubes of the tanning unit which were insufficiently protected.
The teenager suffered severe burns to her face, shoulder and legs which needed plastic surgery and have left her with permanent scarring
The ensuing investigation also found no emergency cord in place for use by customers. Following this incident the Environmental Health and Trading Standards teams carried out safety checks on all sunbed operators within Middlesbrough.
Appearing before Teesside Magistrates, Sihra, 26, of Harrogate Crescent, Middlesbrough, admitted two charges under Health & Safety at Work legislation and was sentenced to 20 weeks’ custody for each, to run concurrently.
In a victim impact statement submitted to the court, the teenager described feeling suicidal, and said she still suffers from anxiety following the incident.
She said: “When I came out of the sunbed, I knew by my younger sister’s face that I was going to need to go to hospital for treatment, but I could not know that the treatment would last three years and it is still not complete.
“I must live with this scar for the rest of my life and the toll it has taken on me can’t even be articulated.”
Following today’s sentencing, the teenager’s mother added: “We are grateful for the hard work that has been done by the Environmental Health and Trading Standards teams and that the trader has finally accepted responsibility.
“It goes some way towards her recovery.”
Councillor Janet Thompson, Middlesbrough Council’s Executive member for Neighbourhoods, said: “It’s all too easy to take tanning salons for granted, and to assume they’re safe because those running them know what they’re doing.
“This dreadful case is a timely reminder of how badly wrong things can go when the owners of such establishments show a cavalier and reckless disregard for the law and for people’s safety.
“This young woman has been scarred for life, and I can only applaud her bravery in helping us to prosecute the perpetrator, and I wish her all the best with her ongoing recovery.
“It’s also a reminder that no-one under 18 should be using sunbeds, and that operators have a legal duty to carry out the appropriate checks – if they don’t we will prosecute.
“I’m also grateful to the court for a sentence which I hope will act as a deterrent to others tempted to cut corners and flout the law with such terrible consequences.”
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