Woman sprayed in eyes gets £7,000

A social worker has accepted £7,000 in compensation from a council after a young offender in south Wales sprayed oven cleaner in her face.

Rudi Meszaros, 33, was temporarily blinded and suffered chemical damage to her eyes in the attack at Cambridge House care home, Newport in 2004.

Miss Meszaros, of County Durham, said chemical cleaners were not locked away despite a previous incident.

Newport Council said it took health and safety issues "very seriously".

Miss Meszaros suffered anxiety after the attack in August 2004 and left Cambridge House, said her solicitor.

She now works with young people with learning disabilities in the north east of England.

She and other staff had raised concerns about the easy access to cleaning products but no safe system for storing them was put in place, she said.

"Several risk assessments prior to the incident also showed that the young man who attacked me should not have been kept in this home as he was a danger both to staff and other residents," she said.

We take seriously any harm caused to members of staff in the line of duty Newport council spokesman

Diane Davison of Thompsons Solicitors in Middlesbrough, who represented Miss Meszaros, said: "This incident was very distressing for Miss Meszaros who suffered psychological injuries and very serious injuries to her eyes.

"The case was particularly unacceptable because of a previous similar incident.

"The council had full knowledge of the risk of an occurrence yet failed to take simple steps to protect their staff from serious injury."

A spokesman for Newport Council said all children placed in Cambridge House, which provides care to young people between the ages of 11 and 16, were subject to a full risk assessment.

He added that all hazardous cleaning substances were kept in a locked cupboard to which all staff held keys.

"Although the council cannot comment on individual cases there are safeguards built into policy and practice which should, when followed, prevent incidents such as this occurring," he said.

"We take seriously any harm caused to members of staff in the line of duty."