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WITH bored kids trapped at home for months, millions of parents have been scouring the web for children's toys during the pandemic.

Popular websites like Amazon and eBay offer endless exciting new toys at the click of a mouse - but can you be sure they're safe for your kids?

The BTHA investigation found dangerous chemicals in a number of toys - including a crawling doll set with accessories sold on eBayCredit: BTHA

The answer is NO, according to a shocking new report, which found 60 per cent of toys on online marketplaces could kill or seriously injure children.

They included products with small batteries that could burn a child's insides, and toys with long cords that could strangle a toddler to death.

And a horrifying 86 per cent of toys tested from various marketplaces were illegal to sell in the UK, says the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA).

Though toys must be safe by law, there are no clear legal requirements for online marketplaces to check the safety of third-party sellers' products

Toy swords have been recalled for posing a threat to childrenCredit: Suffolk Trading Standards

Only this month, a 10-year-old girl from Merseyside had to undergo life-saving surgery in hospital after swallowing 15 magnetic balls in her sleep.

The tiny balls, advertised as an "educational" toy by a third-party seller on Amazon, were reported to have fused together in the youngster's intestines.

Even when unsafe toys are spotted and taken down by online platforms, the BTHA says seemingly identical ones crop up Whack-A-Mole-style.

With the Christmas season fast approaching and further lockdowns in place across the UK, the non-profit is now calling for urgent changes to the law to better protect children from dangerous toys sold by third-party vendors.

They want online marketplaces to be made to police the safety of products in their "shop windows", and for the Online Harms Bill to include physical harm from defective toys sold on the web, among other changes.

Natasha Crookes, Director of Public Affairs for the BTHA, says: “Little or no action has been taken to make sustained changes that will protect children from unsafe toys."

Here, Natasha talks The Sun through some of the biggest dangers unsafe toys pose to our kids:

Batteries that burn

Under toy regulations, small batteries must be kept away from kids.

You should only be able to open the battery compartment in a certain way or by the use of tools, meaning young children can't access it.

And no batteries should be supplied loose in the toys.

Yet Natasha says: "The toys we found either had easy access to the batteries, supplied them loose or broke too easily under testing giving access to the batteries.

Small metal batteries pose significant risk to childrenCredit: BTHA

"Coin cell batteries in particular can burn through the oesophagus (food pipe) in as little as 45 minutes if swallowed."

Severe cases of burning can cause catastrophic internal bleeding, long-term damage and even death.

Long cords

Long cords on a toy may look appealing to a curious child.

But Natasha warns they can result in strangulation.

An array of tested toys - including a walking unicorn - were deemed to be unsafe because of their excessively long cords or ribbons.

Natasha says: "The length of cords and looped cords are restricted within the Toy Regulations. Some of these restrictions are based on age to ensure a small child cannot get material wrapped around their neck risking strangulation."

Kids can harm themselves with the long cords of toysCredit: BTHA

The cords on toys like this unicorn can potentially wrap around a child's neckCredit: BTHA

In 2016, toddler Bronwyn Taylor died after becoming tangled up in a window blind cord at her grandparents' Stoke-on-Trent home.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) warns that long neck ties on children's costumes can also prove fatal - something worth bearing in mind for Halloween.

Gut-fusing magnets

It's a horrifying thought - yet little kids have actually had to have part of their colon removed after swallowing magnets from toys.

Usually, responsible firms will either design their magnetic toys to be low strength, or make their high-strength magnets inaccessible to children and over a certain size.

Yet Natasha says: "Worryingly we are finding more and more magnets on marketplaces that fail the strict regulations.

Young children could swallow small magnets

These magnetic blocks could be a choking hazardCredit: BTHA

"The toy rules changed 10 years ago to make sure these magnets could not be accessed.

"But the magnetic toys we found shattered easily, releasing the magnets and allowing them to be swallowed.

"If more than one is swallowed they join the folds of a child’s gut together."

If left untreated, this would cause infection and possible death.

Dangerous projectiles

They're often kids' top pick for birthday presents and pocket money treats.

But unsafe toy guns can have devastating consequences.

Natasha explains: "Toys that fire projectiles must be designed so that the force and design of the projectile will not cause serious injury.

Projectiles fired from toy guns with too much energy can pose a riskCredit: BTHA

The BTHA provided shocking examples of injuries from gel blastersCredit: BTHA

"In addition the toy must only fire the projectiles supplied and it must not be easy to use other items to fire at children.

"We found a toy gun that fired hard projectiles with too much energy and enabled the use of other potentially more dangerous homemade projectiles.

"This could cause injuries to children and animals, particularly if they hit soft sensitive areas like the eyes where they can cause bleeding and blurred vision."