A Bolton mum is said to have been left “traumatised” after a microwave poaching hack backfired and she’s vowed never to eat an egg again.
25-year-old Chantelle Conway was left with horrific facial burns after her attempt to poach an egg in the microwave went wrong and left screaming in agony.
Using the same tried-and-tested method she’s “always” done to poach eggs, Chantelle boiled the kettle and filled a cup before cracking a raw egg into the water and putting it in the microwave for ten seconds – but when she then put a cold spoon into the boiling water to remove the poached egg, the reaction sent the piping hot water shooting straight into her face as she stood over the cup.
Chantelle claims that she has been poaching eggs in the microwave for the last two years before it went wrong earlier this month.
She was so rocked by the incident that she was convinced she’d “burnt her face off”.
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“I’ve always done poached eggs that way because it was just a quicker and easier way of doing them,” said Chantelle, from Farnworth in Bolton.
“When I took it out of the microwave, I put a metal spoon in to turn the egg and check if it was cooked but as soon as the spoon touched the water it shot out.
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“It wasn’t the egg that blew up [as] that landed on my kitchen side, it was the water that went everywhere – all over my face and neck and I’m sure it even hit the ceiling because there’s a mark above where I was standing.
“It was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
Chantelle claims that she has been poaching eggs in the microwave for the last two years / Credit: Flickr
Describing the pain as feeling like “someone had a blowtorch on my face constantly”, Chantelle said she was “really lucky” that she managed to shut her eyes in time and wasn’t blinded, but admits that here eyelids were “badly burnt”.
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Chantelle was at home with her 18-month-old daughter and was on FaceTime with her cousin Stephanie at the time of the horrific accident, who listened in horror to Chantelle’s screams as the water scalded her face.
Relaying the traumatic incident, Stephanie said: “We FaceTime every day and she puts the phone on the tea and sugar pots while she makes a brew [but] all of a sudden I saw lots of stuff flying up in the air and she was screaming and couldn’t even talk to tell me what had happened so I thought the kettle had blown up in her face.
“I was in Manchester at the time [so I was] too far away to nip round.
“I just felt helpless and was panicking trying to call someone nearby to go help her.”
“I’ll never have an egg again because I’m so traumatised.” / Credit: Kennedy News & Media
After her partner Mark came home to take her to A&E at Royal Bolton Hospital, Chantelle revealed that hospital staff said her quick reaction of continuously pouring cold water over her face meant she was very lucky to have not sustained third-degree burns.
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Following the life-changing incident, Chantelle has shared photos of her excruciating facial burns to warn others against the ‘hack’ – which she has seen people doing on TikTok – and also shared her burn recovery experience to raise awareness and warn others on the social media platform.
“I do take full responsibility for what happened,” Chantelle admits.
“It was silly of me to do it and I just want more people to know what can happen so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“I’ll never have an egg again because I’m so traumatised.”
Featured Image – Kennedy News and Media
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Bolton Wanderers sign young Celtic striker on loan
Danny Jones
Bolton Wanderers have signed young Celtic forward Johnny Kenny on loan for the rest of the season, rounding off a busy January transfer window with a final bit of business on deadline day.
All told, that’s seven new arrivals brought in this month as the League One side looks to continue their promotion push.
The Republic of Ireland international Johnny Kenny is just the latest among a number of offensive reinforcements, with Steven Schumacher looking to both increase his side’s goal output and further shore up the defence.
Still just 22, Kenny has already shown plenty of potential back in the Scottish Premiership, and now the fans will see how he takes to life in the English third tier.
Already scoring six times and registering a couple of assists in 22 appearances across all competitions so far this campaign, the Sligo-born striker is just a couple of contributions away from chipping in with his best overall tally in the league over a full term.
His best senior spell overall came on loan in the Republic of Ireland, where he scored a baker’s dozen of goals and assisted three times for Shamrock Rovers.
While perhaps not the most competitive league, he’s certainly taken some of that form back to his parent club in 2025/26, and now Celtic will get an even better sense of where his level is at right now – as will Bolton Wanderers.
Addressing the supporters deal in a club statement, Schumacher said: “We’re delighted to have signed Johnny to continue a really strong month. He is a player who we rate very highly and is someone we identified last summer as someone who would really strengthen our attacking options.
“He’s since played regularly and scored goals at a high level, so [he] will be a big addition for us. We didn’t think he would be available during this window, but once we were made aware Celtic would allow him to leave on loan, we acted really quickly to get the deal done.”
With other acquisitions such as attacking midfielder Ruben Rodrigues and winger Corey Blackett-Taylor, who has already scored on his debut, there’s suddenly some real squad depth to draw from.
As for Kenny, the promising youngster has every intention of quickly becoming the main man at the Toughsheet Stadium, taking on the number nine shirt.
Speaking in his first full interview as a Trotter, Kenny admitted that the interest has been there for some time and that the deal has been a longer process than the eleventh-hour nature might suggest, but reiterated that Bolton “reached out to [him] a lot during the summer.”
He’s made it clear that his aim is not only to increase his regular first-team minutes but also to make sure he is well and truly in the final national team picture.
Ireland are yet to find out if they qualify for the 2026 World Cup – pending a tricky playoff tie this March – but Kenny clearly wants to make sure there’s no doubt in terms of selection should they make it through the challenge.
Elsewhere in the EFL, another big attacking loan deal was done by local promotion rivals Stockport County, who have managed re-sign Louie Barry for a third spell.
Louie Barry returns to Stockport County for a third loan spell
Danny Jones
One of the most popular Stockport County stars, whether that be a permanent player or a loan signing, has returned to the club by popular demand: Hatters, rejoice, because Louie Barry is back at Edgeley Park.
In one of the most heavily rumoured January transfer deals of this window, Aston Villa youngster academy product Louie Barry has been confirmed for a third County stint, getting reacquainted with Stockport on deadline day.
Having come through not only Barcelona’s famous ‘La Masia’ system, but West Brom’s youth setup and then Aston Villa, his most successful spells of senior football have come at the Greater Manchester club.
Parent club Villa recalled him only to send the youth prospect back out on two other lacklustre loans (much to the disappointment of County supporters), but now he’s going back to well, and is hopefully set for a return to form. Unveiled in a dramatic video at the local Plaza Theatre, fans are already buzzing.
Who doesn’t love a bit of old-fashioned paegantry, eh?
Still just 22 years old, Louie Barry remains highly rated by his foremost employers, but has had few opportunities to try and impress his parent club.
Barring a handful of cup appearances, the Sutton-born attacking midfielder – often deployed as a winger during his two previous terms – the majority of his professional minutes have been with County.
His second visit to the then-League Two side was even better than his first, and all told, he scored 25 goals in 45 games, not to mention more than a dozen assists across his appearances off the bench and an increasing number of starts as he became an increasing talisman in the team.
Unfortunately, one thing that has been consistent throughout his professional career thus far is struggles with injuries, which have certainly derailed his last two loan deals to Hull City and Sheffield United.
It remains to be seen whether he is at the level of the Championship or beyond, but with the now third-tier outfit currently chasing promotion, this may prove to be the perfect test.
Should be able to stay fit, it goes without saying that he’ll quickly knit back into the first-team squad, and with fellow fan favourite Isaac ‘Tanto’ Olaofe having also been re-signed on a half-season loan deal, it’s been a popular period of recruitment overall.
Pair these deals with the signing of Adama Sidibeh, and suddenly, manager Dave Challinor has some real strength in depth when it comes to offensive options.
What do you make of the acquisition, Hatters? Will three prove to be the magic number, and could another promising visit to SK3 be the start of a potential permanent deal somewhere down the line?
You can see Louie Barry’s first full interview back as a Stockport County player down below.
Barry is aiming to be back fit soon, though it’s unclear if there is an option to buy in the contract.
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2021 
