A 17-year-old youth who was badly burned when the top from a McDonald’s cup of tea came off is considering taking legal action against the fast food giant.

The Daily Mail reports that Ben Lewis from Telford in Shropshire was holding the cup as his girlfriend Victoria Bennett drove away from the McDonald’s drive-thru takeaway at Newtown in Powys.

Ms Bennett drove over a 5mph speed hump as they left the premises, at which point the cup’s lid came loose and scalding hot tea splashed onto Mr Lewis’ thigh. Ms Bennett drove her boyfriend to her house so he could sit in the shower and let cold water pour onto the burn. However, he was in such pain that she took him to Welshpool Hospital for treatment.

Mr Lewis’ thigh is now covered in blisters and a raw wound that he fears might scar him for life. He is currently unable to return to work at his mother’s nightclub and the wound is so painful that he cannot even wrap it in bandages or take a shower or drive.

Ben told reporters that had the tea spilled onto a baby or young child, the outcome might have been much worse.

'Obviously the lid wasn't properly put on the tea,’ he said. ‘It only took going over a speed bump to get tea all over me.

'It was incredibly painful – I screamed when it happened and yanked my trousers down to stop them sticking to me.

'I went immediately to my girlfriend's house, where I had a cold shower and had to go to the hospital that night. I took some powerful painkillers and had my leg wrapped in clingfilm to protect the burns. I'm going to have to go back to hospital at some point.’

Ben added that, even though the blisters had gone down, the leg was still painful and sore.

‘I've been worried about bursting the blisters and causing scarring,’ he said. ‘I've been told that the blisters won't go for another month or so – and who knows what my leg will look like after that.

'It's scary that they serve tea at that temperature with lids that aren't put on right.’

The incident happened on Friday (26/02/10) and Mr Lewis and his family are now considering taking legal action over the burns injuries he sustained.

A spokesman for McDonald’s has issued a statement:

'We are very sorry to hear of this accident. We will launch an urgent investigation to ensure our usual safety safeguards are in force.’

In 1992, 79-year-old Stella Liebeck won £2 million from McDonald’s in the US courts, after being scalded by a cup of coffee she had ordered from a drive-thru outlet.

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