A baby boy suffered a heart attack and lost half of his tongue after accidentally consuming a lethal drain unblocker he mistook for milk. Sam Anwar, from Highgate, Birmingham, was just 13 months old when he crept behind his mum, who was cleaning the bathroom at their flat and drank caustic soda from a white bottle.

Sam, who had just turned one, suffered horrific burns to his mouth, tongue, lips and airways over the summer. After suffering a heart attack, he was unconscious for three minutes. Doctors said they had never seen such a severe case in someone so young, with it being “a-million-to-one he survived”. 

He spent two months in intensive care at Birmingham Children’s Hospital having lost half of his tongue due to the toxic substance. Unable to eat, he initially had to be fed through his nose.

Now aged 18 months, Sam is back home but is being fed through his stomach.

His father, Nadeem Alshameri, revealed that his son will need a complex operation to “unlock” his mouth and repair the internal burn damage. The father-of-four has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover any medical bills, reports Birmingham Live.

The dad-of-four has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay any medical bills and treatment abroad. He said doctors “don’t know what to do” with his son who drank “killer” drain unblocker.

He said: “The GP said it was one in a million he survived. It’s killer stuff. He passed out for three minutes and had a heart attack. It’s a miracle he survived and came back to life.

“I’ve been told they will try and do an operation for him,” said Nadeem. “Some doctors said they will do the surgery but others say it’s too early to do. They don’t know what to do with him.

“We could try and take him away to be treated abroad. But we don’t have enough money to do that.”