Mother blames sofa for baby rash

Land of Leather said it was no longer selling sofas treated with the chemical

The mother of a nine-month-old baby who developed a rash all over his body has blamed it on the chemicals in the family's sofa.

Rebecca Lloyd-Bennett of Redditch, Worcestershire, said she realised the sofa could be causing her son Archie's rash after watching BBC Watchdog.

The programme reported how treatments used on some furniture to prevent them going mouldy in storage could be toxic.

Land of Leather, which sold the sofa, said it was "concerned and upset".

The company has now given the family their money back and has taken the item away to be analysed by experts.

Skin tests

It also said it was surprised because it had taken sofas treated with the fungicide off the market a month before the Lloyd-Bennett family bought theirs.

The family say their pet dog has also been suffering from similar symptoms to Archie.

Ms Lloyd-Bennett took her son to hospital after the rash broke out and was told it was an "irritant-induced eczema".

However, he is too young to have skin tests carried out to find the exact cause.

Archie is now being treated with steroids and has to wear gloves to stop him scratching and scarring his skin.

Ms Lloyd-Bennett said their dog was on a final course of steroids and could be put down if they did not work.

The family has already spent more than £1,000 on vets' bills.

Ms Lloyd-Bennett said specialists said Archie could be left with scarred skin for a while once the rash had cleared up.

She said: "Since he's come into contact with the sofa his skin has been very bad, but when we take him away from the house it does get better."

Land of Leather said it would be running tests on the family's sofa.