Man's penis 'badly burnt' in airline coffee spill

A man said his life "will never be the same again" after his penis was severely burned when a cup of hot coffee spilled on to him during a Virgin Atlantic flight.

Nicholas Gibbs, 41, from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, said it had happened in December on a flight from Las Vegas to London Heathrow.

Gibbs, a full-time carer for his mother, said he was in so much pain he was not able to look after her properly and had started legal action.

A spokesperson for the airline apologised and said the safety and wellbeing of "customers and our people is always our top priority".

Gibbs said after the incident, he was given paracetamol and loose-fitting pyjamas and told there would be medical support when he landed, but this never materialised.

"By this stage my penis was badly blistered and the bandage they put on had fallen off," he said.

He said there had been no "follow-up calls, no correspondence – nothing".

The burn had healed but had had "a massive effect" on his life and his mental health, he said.

Gibbs said he and his partner Claire, who was with him on the flight, had hoped she would be pregnant by now, and that he had not been able to look after his mother as much as he would have liked.

"It's my manhood and it will never be the same again," he added.

Gibbs said a "lidless cup of hot coffee" fell into his lap.

He claimed the tray table was "badly slanted and too flimsy to carry food and drink".

He said: "I was in absolute agony, but also in complete shock as the excruciating pain was just unbearable."

He said 20 minutes later, he had been given a bottle of water to pour on his lap.

"I then spent around an hour sitting on a soaking wet chair before they finally applied burn cream on my penis and put a bandage on it," he said.

Thomas Roughley, of Hudgell Solicitors, which is representing Gibbs, said: "This is an extreme case, but the number of injuries that have occurred from hot drink spillages caused by cups sliding off sloping and defective tray tables continues to rise at a worrying rate."

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: "Our cabin crew are highly trained to deliver drinks safely, with hot drinks served below boiling temperature and filled to below the brim in specially designed cups or mugs.

"This procedure reduces the risks of spills by taking into account confined spaces for crew to operate, customer handling and times of turbulence."

It said it could not comment on the specifics of the case due to an ongoing investigation, but that hot drinks service was suspended when cabin conditions were unsuitable due to actual or anticipated turbulence.

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.