https://apple.news/AggTxtIQZT5aMUPn0iHgzBw

A MUM has warned parents to watch what their children pick up at parks after her little boy had to have tummy surgery.

Frankie had been playing with his brothers, but when the family returned home, he started to display worrying symptoms.

Mum Bree Crawford said he had been vomiting, had felt lethargic and had also been complaining of abdominal pain.

The worried parent had posted on the CPR Kids Facebook page after doctors found that her son had swallowed 22 colour magnetic metal balls.

The mum said: “This poor little guy has given us a big fright.”

She explained that the family had taken Frankie to see doctors and that he had finally been sent to Sydney Children’s Hospital.

“They performed surgery to have a look inside and see what was the cause of the pain. 

“Turns out unbeknownst to us he had swallowed 22 colour magnetic metal balls that one of his brothers had picked up at the park. 

“These “toys” had done a lot of damage to his bowels and intestines. The amazing team here have sorted him out and he will be here in recovery for most of the week. 

“Any parents with young kids if you have these in your home get rid of them.”

The little balls had been too small to show up in an ultrasound scan.

Medics had only been able to discover the balls after they had to dig into the two-year-old’s organs, making a hole in his digestive system, 9News reported.

The toddler had to spend three hours in surgery and has now made a full recovery.

The experts at CPR Kids said that these toys are banned in Australia but are still available to be purchased online.

They warned that they may seem harmless, but that they are also a choking hazard.

In May last year, the NHS in the UK issued a safety alert and called for the small metal balls to be banned.

It came after it was revealed that in England, 65 children required urgent surgery after swallowing magnets over a three year period.

Not only are the little magnetic balls a choking hazard for little ones, but they can also be deadly.

The little toys are forced together in the intestine or bowels and can squeeze the tissue so that blood supply is then cut off.

LONG TERM ISSUES

Paediatric surgeon and national clinical director for children and young people at NHS England, Prof Simon Kenny previously said that the items should not be for sale.

“There is nothing fun for children or their parents about surgery to remove magnets that have been swallowed and become stuck together through different parts of the intestines, or the long-term physical problems and internal scarring that can be left behind.

“I would urge parents to be aware of the dangers associated with magnetic toys but ultimately, the only way we can prevent future incidents is to stop these items being sold altogether”, he added.

Doctors previously warned of the dangerous toys after little Libbie Walker needed major surgery and was left with a seven-inch scar which runs from her belly button to her hip.

In 2018, a 12-year-old boy had to have part of his bowel removed after swallowing one of the magnetic balls.

Freddie Webster was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary after a 3mm ball ripped a hole in the wall of his stomach.