Watch out for cork accidents this festive season

Corks can explode from festive fizz at up to 50 miles per hour and are capable of causing permanent eye damage, warn experts.

Pressure in a 750ml bottle of sparkling wine is about three times that of a standard car tyre.

The cork can travel to the eye in less than 0.05 seconds, making blinking useless.

Ethan Waisberg, from Cambridge University’s Department of Ophthalmology, and colleagues say the warning may seem overly cautious but cork eye injuries are an often overlooked and a substantial threat to optical health.

The retina can become detached, the lens dislocated and it can even lead to permanent blindness.