What A Cute Pair Of Jelly Sandals Did To A Little Girl’s Feet

This past weekend, a 2-year-old received a birthday present she’d probably like to forget. Esmé Connor suffered cuts on her right foot after wearing sandals from Next, an England-based store—and she’d only been wearing them about 30 minutes.

“It’s not like she was running around in them for hours,” the girl’s mother, Lisa Connor, told MetroUK. “She was just plodding around the house and then came running in in tears. There was blood all round her ankle and on the soles of her foot. Of course there will be new shoes that rub, but this is ridiculous…”

Connor shared her story on social media and it’s since gone viral.

On the company’s website, they describe the shoes as “fun jelly sandals for short term wear only.” I’d say a half-hour is super short, and I’d also assume a cut-up foot is not a disclaimer of the shoe.

“I think they should be taken off sale before any more children get hurt,” said Esmé’s mother. “She’s not been able to put any shoes on since… Other parents saw my pictures and messaged me to say they had similar problems. I hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

We hope not either.

“We are terribly sorry for the distress caused and we are taking this matter very seriously,” said a spokeswoman for Next. “We’ve asked for this pair of shoes to be returned so we can carry out a detailed inspection of this shoe, since this is the first complaint of this nature that we’ve received.”

I know we’ll now think twice before buying jelly shoes.

Most importantly, however, we hope Esmé’s foot feels better soon.