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  "path": "/2026/06/05/man-burnt-penis-coffee-slid-off-tray-says-life-will-never-same-28658859/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-05T10:46:14.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "UK",
    "Weird news",
    "coffee",
    "Virgin Atlantic",
    "Hertfordshire",
    "Las Vegas",
    "Heathrow",
    "drinks",
    "Join our community",
    "check our news page",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "Nicholas Gibbs was flying back to Heathrow from Las Vegas with his partner, Claire, in December 2025, when the lidless drink slid into his lap from a tray table (Picture: Hudgell Solicitors)\n\n**A holidaymaker says his manhood ‘will never be the same’ after it was badly burned when a cup of hot coffee slid off the tray table and into his lap on a Virgin Atlantic flight.**\n\nNicholas Gibbs, 41, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, was flying back from Las Vegas to Heathrow with his partner Claire last December when he suffered the ‘life-changing’ injuries.\n\nHe said the pain was so bad they had to stop trying for a baby and left him unable to properly look after his mum, for whom he is a full-time carer.\n\n‘It’s had a massive effect on my life, to be honest,’ Mr Gibbs said.\n\n‘It was hard, not being able to look after Mum as much as I’d have liked, and Claire and me had hoped to be pregnant by now.\n\n‘It’s also had a mental impact on me. When all said and done, it’s my manhood and it will never be the same again. What happened has been life-changing.’\n\nMr Gibbs said the ordeal ‘was pretty much unbelievable from start to finish’.\n\nHis tray was ‘already pretty much loaded with food’ from earlier in the flight by the time the hot drinks were served.\n\nHe said ‘it was clear the tray was badly slanted and too flimsy to carry the food and drink’ but the lidless cup of coffee was placed there anyway.\n\n‘They put it on the tray and, almost immediately, it slid off and went into my lap,’ Mr Gibbs said.\n\n‘I was in absolute agony, but also in complete shock as the excruciating pain was just unbearable.’\n\nMr Gibbs claims ‘it must have been 20 minutes before anyone did anything’ and gave him a bottle of water to pour over his lap.\n\n‘I then spent around an hour sitting on a soaking-wet chair – obviously, I was also in such pain – before they finally applied burn cream on my penis and put a bandage on it,’ he said.\n\nA spokesperson for the airline apologised for Mr Gibbs’s experience on board and said customers’ safety and wellbeing is always our top priority’ (Picture: Anadolu via Getty)\n\n##  Follow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news\n\nFollow us to receive the latest news updates from Metro (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nMetro’s on Whatsapp! Join our community for breaking news and juicy stories.\n\nMr Gibbs was given paracetamol for the pain and loose-fitting pyjamas to wear as his tracksuit bottoms were soaked.\n\nHe was also assured that further medical support would be available upon landing at Heathrow.\n\nBut when they touched down, neither Virgin staff nor medics were available to help.\n\nMr Gibbs said: ‘By this stage my penis was badly blistered and the bandage they put on had fallen off.\n\n‘They organised someone to meet me at the airport but that never happened, which was a complete joke. And that was the last I heard from Virgin. No follow-up calls, no correspondence – nothing. I don’t even think that they reported what happened.’\n\nThomas Roughley, of Hudgell Solicitors who are representing Mr Gibbs, said: ‘We feel he was not given satisfactory care from in-flight staff, while Virgin’s response in the aftermath has essentially been non-existent.\n\n‘This is an extreme case, but the number of injuries that have occurred from hot drink spillages caused by cups sliding off plane tray tables is continuing to rise at a worrying rate.’\n\nA Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: ‘We’d like to apologise for the experience Mr Gibbs had onboard.\n\n‘At Virgin Atlantic, the safety and wellbeing of our customers and our people is always our top priority.\n\n‘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.\n\n‘This procedure reduces the risks of spills by taking into account confined spaces for crew to operate, customer handling and times of turbulence.’\n\n******Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.******\n\n**For more stories like this,** check our news page.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Man who burnt penis when coffee slid off tray says ‘life will never be the same’"
}