HE wanted a smart pair of shoes for his idyllic holiday in the sun.

But the £170 pair of trendy shoes that Chris Heleine took with him to Menorca left him with unwanted holiday souvenirs.

The Huddersfield man ended up in hospital with both feet badly blistered and burned – probably from chemicals used in the shoe manufacture.

Now the American shoe company has come to an out of court settlement and awarded Mr Heleine, of Netherton, a four-figure damages sum.

He received the payout after shoes he purchased from a Leeds store, Hip Menswear, left his feet chemically burnt and blistered.

The case was settled by the shoe manufacturer, Collective Brands, before it went to court.

Mr Heleine, 51, bought a pair of Collective Brand’s Sperry Top-Siders in April, 2009, which retail for around £170, before flying to Menorca and wearing the shoes for the first time.

But within hours he had to be rushed to hospital by his wife Gill.

He said: “Within 24 hours of putting the shoes on, my feet were really itchy and the irritation meant you could see the complete outline of the shoes on my feet.

“The next thing I knew both feet were covered by literally one enormous blister.

“I had to visit the hospital in Menorca and the staff popped each blister and drained the fluid.

“As anyone who has had a normal blister will know, the skin underneath is really raw and sensitive and, since this affected the entire foot, I was unable to carry out everyday activities without a considerable amount of pain”.

Following the initial treatment, Mr Heleine had to return to hospital each day for around a week to have the dressings changed since medical staff considered there was a significant risk of infection due to the high humidity in Menorca.

He said: “All in all, I’d say that my feet were incredibly sensitive for around two months and during that time I couldn’t wear any kind of footwear without socks, which really isn’t ideal when you’re in a hot country. The scarring is still visible today.”

Mr Heleine contacted law firm Russell Jones & Walker, which is well known for its work in cases involving chemicals, following the widely reported ‘toxic sofa’ cases which eventually resulted in what is believed to be the largest payout in consumer group litigation history.

The law firm sent the shoes for chemical analysis at an independent laboratory which revealed unusually high levels of 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole, which is classified as an irritant.

Lawyer Christian Shotton said: “The Consumer Protection Act protects consumers from unsafe products and the evidence we found at the very least suggests that the shoes were the cause of Mr Heleine’s injuries.

“We hope that taking this action will remind manufactures of their legal duty.”

Mr Heleine continued: “All in all, it wasn’t a pleasant experience but what persuaded me to get in touch with lawyers was the Collective Brand’s attitude.

“They were totally dismissive and their whole attitude seemed to be that this wasn’t their problem.

“I hope that this action will encourage them to take their responsibilities to consumers more seriously”.