Dangerous 'bladed' fidget spinners on sale on eBay

Dangerous 'bladed' fidget spinners on sale on eBay

Dangerous 'bladed' fidget spinners which can puncture children's eyes and skin were found on eBay on sale for just 99p.

The popular gadget has become the latest craze to sweep the nation with school playgrounds full of children using the pocket-sized toy. 

But an investigation discovered a number of the gadgets have been so poorly made that they failed basic toy standards tests.

Blades expert Professor Sarah Hainsworth told BBC's Watchdog, which aired last night, that she carried out tests on three spinners found on eBay.

The BBC show tested three fidget spinners (pictured) which were found on sale on eBay 

She said she found the spinners were able to puncture a tomato - used as a substitute eye - and pork skin, used as human skin. 

Professor Hainsworth judged all three of the gadgets - one as cheap as 99p - to be dangerous.   

She told the show: 'We took these spinners and we looked at the sharpness of the points on them.

'We stabbed them into two different materials. We stabbed them into tomatoes which is a relatively soft material which mimics the strength of an eyeball, for example.

'We found that for all three of the spinners you can stab a tomato using very moderate force. This could potentially a very significant injury to the eye.  

'We also wanted to s ee if they could damage the skin and we used pork skin which is an analogue for human skin.

'We found that for two of the spinners we could stab into the skin. It demonstrated to us that they are capable of creating injury.'

The pocket-size gadgets (pictured) are popular with children after the new craze swept the nation 

Weapons expert David Dyson also said that the three spinners would be classed as offensive weapons.  

Meanwhile, five other spinners purchased from UK shops failed essential safety tests. 

When asked about the dangerous fidget spinners, eBay said: 'These items are absolutely not permitted and will be immediately removed. 

'We'd like to thank the programme for bringing these items to our attention.'  

Trading Standards warned parents to not purchase a spinner unless they see the CE stamp on the packaging. 

A spokesman said: 'Always buy from a reputable seller - and don't buy these toys for children under three as they have small parts that could p resent a choke hazard to children.'

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