Prayers Said for Scalded Baby in Somerset

Churchgoers continue to pray for a 10-month-old baby who was scalded when hot water pipes burst above her cot.

Doctors have told Rhianna Hardie's family that her injuries are so severe that she only has a 20 per cent chance of survival.

Rhianna remains in a critical condition in hospital after suffering 85 per cent burns in the accident at her council house in Taunton, Somerset.

The Rev Tim Jones said: "Our thoughts are with her family and we are of course here to support them."

"All churchgoers have been saying prayers for Rhianna and her family at this time of tragedy and hoping and praying she will pull through," he said.

Rhianna was scalded on only the second night the family had spent in their council house. Her father Mathew Hardie, 27, suffered burns to his hands and arms as he pulled Rhianna from the cot, which had boiling water pouring from pipes.

She was taken to Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital, before being transferred to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and then to the city's Children's Hospital, where she is currently under sedation and in a critical condition.

Doctors have told the family that the next four weeks will be critical to Rhianna's survival.

Meanwhile, Mr Hardie and the baby's mother Charlene Haworth, 23, have been at the baby's bedside since the accident last Sunday.

Doctors plan to use skin grafts from her midriff, which was protected from the boiling water by her nappy, to grow skin that could be applied to her face and body.

The baby's grandmother Kathleen McKenzie, 47, said: "The main thing is that she is still here.

"She's a real little fighter and that has got to bode well for the next few weeks.

"The family would just like to thank everyone for being so kind to us during this difficult time."