Stevenage mum's warning after two-year-old swallows magnets

Louie Edwards was in hospital for more than a week after he suffered a perforated intestine

The mother of a two-year-old boy who had major surgery after swallowing two small magnets has warned other parents not to buy them.

Louie Edwards, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, suffered a blockage in his bowel and a perforated intestine.

Research carried out by Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, which treated Louie, found that swallowing the magnets could be potentially fatal.

Michaella Edwards said the magnets were "really harmful, even deadly".

Earlier this year, the NHS called for the small metal ball magnets to be banned due to the problems caused by people swallowing them.

Addenbrooke's said in the last two months it had admitted three children requiring emergency surgery after swallowing the magnets.

Louie's mother, Michaella Edwards, said he was making a good recovery at home

Ms Edwards said the magnets were bought for Louie's older brother, but when the two-year-old played with them, he swallowed two of the balls.

Louie had to have his intestine repaired, spending more than a week in hospital, and was discharged two weeks ago.

Ms Edwards said: "I just broke down because you don't want to see your child go through any pain.

"Afterwards when they took him out of the surgery, he was all wires and machines everywhere and that was really scary because I thought I could lose him because of silly little magnets that we bought."

She warned other parents not to buy them for any children, regardless of their age.

The two small magnets swallowed by Louie caused the bowel loops to clamp together resulting in a blockage

Dr Georgina Malakounides said the two tiny magnet balls were "enough to make the different bowel loops they were in clamp together and cause a blockage".

The paediatric surgeon said she had seen "even worse injuries" including an 18-month-old who swallowed 23 magnets, which then formed a loop twisting the bowel, and another child had swallowed 63 magnets.

The study carried out by Addenbrooke's, which Dr Malakounides co-authored, found 51% of children who swallowed magnets had to undergo surgery to have them removed.

Earlier this year, the government's Office for Product Safety and Standards issued a safety alert about the dangers of small high power magnets, and some products have been removed from sale.

Dr Georgina Malakounides was co-author of a study into children swallowing ball magnets