A curious two-year-old owes his life to his trainers after a faulty light fitting zapped him with more than 240 volts.

Tyler Stone got the shock of his life when he grabbed hold of loose wiring hanging from a 2ft-high car park lamp at a block of flats.

The building's lights short-circuited as the youngster was jolted backwards.

Tyler, who had been visiting family friends for a barbecue, suffered burns to his hands and was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Doctors told his panicked mother, Sarah, that the rubber soles of his trainers had acted as an earth.

Sarah, of Beaumont Leys, Leicester, said: "We were waiting for a taxi to get home.

"I took him out of his pushchair so I could fold it up and he toddled off.

"About five seconds later, I heard him screaming. He'd put his hands around the top of the lamp and touched the electrical wires.

"I ran over and saw he had burns all over his hands, so we took him straight to hospital.

"They told us the burns were only superficial but they said his trainers had saved his life.

The 22-year-old said: "It's scary to think he could have died and I can't believe that someone would leave live electrical wiring like that."

The power surge was so strong that it short-circuited the corridor lights in the block of flats Tyler and his mum had been visiting.

Dr Chris Oxley, reader of electronic devices at De Montfort University, said: "Rubber soles would provide a very high resistance and the circuit would not have been complete, so the current level would have been very small – maybe enough to cause minor burns.

"He was very lucky, not only because of the rubber soles but because it was dry."

Residents at the block of flats, in Beaumanor Road, said the lamp had been broken for over a year.

Another two lamps, which stand outside the front door to the homes, have been damaged in the past two months by vandals.

Ibrahim Memary, 36, said: "Many times, I've seen small kids going to touch the wires and parents having to pull them back."

The council, which is responsible for the site, said it cut power to the lights after a complaint from Ms Stone.

A spokeswoman said: "We are aware of this incident and have disconnected the lights.

"We have taken a full report from Ms Stone and are investigating."

Beaumont Leys ward city councillor Paul Westley said: "It's appalling that this has been allowed to happen. The fact that it's a young child as well – it's a miracle that he wasn't killed.

"This issue needs to be sorted and I will do everything in my power to make sure that these faulty lamps are dealt with immediately."