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REBECCA MCCARTHY, AGED TWO, NEEDED HOURS OF EMERGENCY SURGERY AND HAD HER INTESTINES TEMPORARILY REMOVED AFTER SWALLOWING 14 MAGNETS - HER MUM SAYS THE ORDEAL 'DEVASTATED THE WHOLE

FAMILY' 13:25, 20 May 2025 An mum has issued a warning to other parents after her tiny tot ended up in a critical condition after swallowing over a dozen magnetic balls. Little Rebecca

McCarthy, aged two, had to undergo two hours of life-saving surgery for doctors to temporarily remove her intestines and reach the 14 magnets. The tot became one of hundreds of children

hospitalised each year after ingesting magnets - prompting new calls for toy manufacturers and retailers to put more visible warnings on packaging. Mum Sam, from Basildon, Essex, said she

first realised something was wrong when Rebecca threw up during a midday meal. Warning over the dangers of buying toys online, Ms McCarthy said: "Rebecca's accident devastated the

whole family. She had months of ongoing health issues. I still find it incredibly painful to think about.""The memory will never fade. I would hate for any other child to go

through what Becca suffered because of buying dangerous toys from sellers on online marketplaces." It comes as shocking new research revealed around 300 children were admitted to

A&E in a single year after swallowing magnets, including some following social media trends to imitate tongue piercings. A study by the University of Southampton found that one in 10 of

those admitted required life-saving operations, with the magnets found in toys ranging from magnetic ball sets to fake piercings, as well as other household objects.The study, published in

the journal Archives of Diseases in Childhood, found that more than two in every 100,000 children swallow magnets each year. The true figure is thought to be much higher, as not all

hospitals shared their data. Article continues below According to the data provided by 66 UK hospitals between May 2022 and April 2023, 6% of swallowing cases were linked to viral social

media trends where the children, mostly girls, tried to imitate tongue piercings by placing small magnets in their mouths. One child, eight-year-old Rhys Millum, died after his small

intestine was perforated by ten silver round magnets each measuring 3mm. Mum Andrea Boyd, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said Rhys had been fine until the morning of Friday, September 30

2022, when he started complaining of stomach pain. He was admitted to hospital, but died a short time later. Article continues below During a post-mortem days later, a pathologist spotted a

30mm by 3m metal object - which they first thought was a metal screw Rhys had swallowed. It was later found to be a row of ten 3m wide silver spherical magnets that had all stuck together in

a row and pierced his small intestine and lodged in his bowel, causing fatal internal injuries. Nigel Hall, professor of paediatric surgery who works at the university and Southampton

Children's Hospital, said that parents should be aware of the danger of buying toys containing magnets. He said: "These magnets have potential to harm a large number of children

and young people and increase work for the NHS."Yet many magnetic toys provide very little warning for parents and caregivers of the dangers they pose, particularly those purchased from

online marketplaces. Having an unplanned emergency operation is a traumatic experience for any child and their family - and needing a surgical procedure means time in hospital for days

after."Around one in 10 of these young patients had surgery with most ending up with serious problems, like needing part of their bowel removed or requiring a stoma."The research

has been welcomed by the Child Accident Prevention Trust, which focuses on preventing death and serious injury to young people from avoidable accidents. Katrina Phillips, chief executive of

the Child Accident Prevention Trust, said: "Take great care when buying magnets. We've seen magnetic toys with a flux of 850, 17 times higher than the legal limit of 50."These

super strong magnets can rip through a child's guts and leave them with life-changing injuries. One boy has died. Take a moment to check who you're buying from. Don't assume

that, just because you can buy something, it must be safe."