Harrogate boy Rhys Millum, 8, died after ingesting magnets - inquest

The metal spheres, similar to those in this stock image, were 3mm in diameter

A coroner has warned about the dangers of magnetic balls after the death of an eight-year-old boy who swallowed 10 of the toy spheres.

Rhys Millum, from Harrogate, had complained of stomach pains two days before his death on 2 October, 2022.

His mother took him to hospital that morning and Rhys was diagnosed with a suspected infection and sent home.

Coroner Catherine Cundy said she "hopes the tragedy of Rhys's death will highlight the danger of such objects".

At an inquest at Northallerton Coroner's Court, she gave a conclusion of "misadventure" on the balance of probabilities, which means a deliberate action caused an unintended death.

She said: "I offer my very sincere condolences and I am profoundly sorry.

"I understand the magnetic balls are available and legal but I hope the tragedy of Rhys's death will highlight the danger of such objects, particularly to young children who may swallow them."

'Doubled over'

Rhys's mum Andrea told the inquest her son was "doubled over and screaming" on the morning of Friday, 30 September.

She took him to A&E just before 08:00 BST and he was seen by Dr Henry Stan, who conducted tests to rule out diabetes and a water infection.

The doctor also conducted three abdominal examinations, which did not indicate Rhys was suffering with appendicitis or a perforated bowel.

After being given pain relief, Rhys settled down and was discharged with a diagnosis of mesenteric adenitis - a common condition thought to be caused by a viral infection.

The inquest heard that Rhys tried to eat some food that day but vomited it up soon after.

His father, Richard Millum, then picked him up for the weekend and planned a "chilled few days" of watching films while Rhys got over his illness.

The young boy's symptoms were then described by Mr Millum as being "up and down", with pain in his stomach coming and going.

However, by Saturday Rhys was struggling to keep down liquids and on Sunday, Mr Millum considered taking Rhys back to hospital when his symptoms worsened.

That evening, Rhys told his dad he "couldn't see" and then lost consciousness, prompting Mr Millum to administer CPR.

Paramedics arrived and attempted to resuscitate Rhys for almost an hour while he was in cardiac arrest.

He was taken to Harrogate District Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 20:45 BST.

Toys were a gift

A post-mortem examination found that Rhys had ingested 10 magnetic toys that were about 3mm in diameter and joined together.

They had obstructed and perforated his bowel, which ultimately caused his death.

The magnetic toys had been given to Rhys and his brother by a friend of the family and Rhys had enjoyed playing with them for about a month.

The inquest heard that Rhys never mentioned swallowing the balls to his parents and neither parent had seen him put the toy in his mouth.

Police investigated the possibility that Rhys could have been participating in a "TikTok piercing challenge", which involved putting magnetic balls either side of your cheek to mimic a piercing, but they found no evidence of this.

The forensic pathologist said it was difficult to know exactly when Rhys had ingested the objects but gave a timeline of "days rather than hours".