The incidence of burns from hair straightening devices is on the rise and those most likely to suffer a burn are toddlers, UK doctors have warned.

According to the doctors, hair straighteners are now a common household device. However they can reach temperatures of over 220 degrees Celsius, which is even hotter than an iron.

A child's skin is particularly at risk because it is up to 15 times thinner than an adult's.

Doctors in the burns unit of a UK hospital decided to investigate this further. They looked at all the data relating to burns by hair straightening devices between 2007 and 2011. During this five-year period, there were 155 relevant cases.

The doctors found that the average age of these burn victims was 19 months. Almost half of these burns were caused by touching or grabbing the device, so not surprisingly, the most frequently burnt area of the body was the hand.

However, one in eight injuries were also caused by people stepping on the devices.

In eight of the cases, the victims required skin grafting.

"Hair straightening devices can reach temperatures of over 220 degrees Celsius and can cause significant full thickness injuries. Our study shows that infants and toddlers are at most risk. These are preventable burns that warrant our attention, and we would advocate the use of heat-resistant pouches and closure clips on the devices to help minimise the risk of injury," the doctors said.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Burns.