Pitsea KFC: Great grandmother burned by gravy sauce

Kay Sherman had been celebrating her big day with family when she says she was scalded by the hot sauce.

Kay, who was at her home in Lombardy Close, Pitsea, had been about to tuck into a bucket of chicken when the lid to the gravy popped open and spilled onto her hand.

“It all happened in slow motion," she said.

“I started feeling this shooting pain in my arm and then looked down and saw the gravy on my hand.

“That’s when the pain started registering but I was shocked more than anything.

“I had to go out into the garden and spray cold water on it with the hose because the kitchen is being redone and there’s no running water in there.

“I just couldn’t believe what had happened and how hot it was.”

Kay’s family helped put Vaseline on the wound, before wrapping her hand in clingfilm and a kitchen towel.

She then had to place it in a bucket of ice as she was rushed down to the walk-in centre in Orsett.

“The nurse there told me I did the right thing because if I left it any longer it would have been twice as bad.” Kay added.

“I’ve got numbness and tingling in my hand now, even though it’s been 10 days since it happened.

“I have to keep going back to get my dressing changed every couple of days and we still don’t know if it will leave permanent damage.

“The pain has kept me awake at night and I’m worried there is some nerve damage.”

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Kay was on annual leave from her job at the Shaw Trust when the incident happened, so spent much of her time off of going back and forwards to the walk-in centre.

She has called on KFC to address concerns about the temperature of its gravy and has warned fellow customers to take care when ordering from the fast-food chain.

She said: “In some ways I’m glad it happened to me and not a young child. It could have been a lot worse.

“I just can’t believe KFC is giving gravy to customers that is so ridiculously hot that it burns them.

“I’ve read other stories of this happening to other people so I’m not the only one.

"People need to know how dangerous it is and be really careful because no one wants to suffer the pain I have.”

The food and gravy came from the KFC restaurant in Pitsea

A spokesman for KFC said: "Safety is our top priority for our guests, so we’re really sorry to hear about this and we’re in touch with Kay to fully understand how this happened and help make it right.”