More than 200 toys seized over safety concerns

Toys were seized from the shop by Gloucestershire Trading Standards officers

More than 200 counterfeit toys have been seized from a city centre shop following safety concerns.

Gloucestershire Trading Standards officers visited the shop in Gloucester on Tuesday after a complaint was made regarding potentially fake Labubu toys, which are popular collectible dolls.

In addition to 51 boxed Labubu dolls, which were thought to be counterfeit as they were not marked with the name and address of the importer into the UK, another 166 toys were seized.

The shop has been given a warning and the toys, some of which posed a choking hazard to children as they were found to have easily detachable features, have been removed from sale.

Some toys which contained small parts did not have age warnings and other safety concerns included weak seams giving access to stuffing materials.

Paul Hodgkinson, cabinet member for trading standards at Gloucestershire County Council, said: "Counterfeit toys are dangerous as well as illegal, as small parts, weak seams and missing safety warnings pose real risks to children.

"Our Trading Standards team will act swiftly on complaints or information from the public, and will investigate any shop suspected of selling fake toys.

"We would urge all retailers to check their stock carefully and shoppers to make sure any toys they buy for Christmas meet proper safety standards."