Doctors at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital believe he may never regain full use of his arm.

Kerry-John Harrison managed to open the door of the Indesit 1063W washing machine while it was revolving at about 1200 rpm.

His father Ian and mother Jackie ran to him when they heard his screams at their home in Coleford, Gloucestershire.

The boy underwent a 12-hour operation on his arm and will need more surgery and skin grafts.

'Family had moved'

The machine's manufacturer, Merloni, said it had made every effort to warn customers of a possible fault with a safety catch on certain Indesit and Ariston washing machines.

The company wrote to around 3,000 customers on its database and placed ads in national Sunday newspapers. But the Harrison family was never informed.

"Unfortunately, the Harrisons had moved and had not updated their guarantee records," said the company spokesperson, Christina Smedley.

The family said a representative from the firm replaced a safety catch after the accident but they are still waiting for Indesit to contact them.