A mum is calling for tiny toy magnets to be banned after her six-year-old daughter had to have emergency surgery to remove part of her bowel.
Jane Bailey's daughter Melody swallowed four small magnetic balls - which then began to 'burn' through her internal organs as they attracted to each other.
Jane told how she became concerned when Melody's suspected stomach bug didn't pass after a few days.
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She said her daughter's pain seemed to be getting 'progressively worse', LancsLive reports.
Four days later and in 'agony', the schoolgirl finally admitted she had swallowed the kinetic balls when questioned if she'd put anything in her mouth.
Jane rushed her daughter to A&E and just hours later she had emergency surgery to remove the toy magnets and part of her bowel.
The 30-year-old mum, who works as a support worker for people with learning difficulties, is trying to raise awareness of the dangers toy magnets can pose.
Jane, from Preston, Lancashire, said: "She had a tummy ache so I gave her some Calpol.
"The next two mornings she was adamant she still wanted to go to school but on the second day they rang me to say 'you're going to have to pick her up because she's been sick'.
"I just put it down to a stomach bug but she kept being sick and the pain got progressively worse until she was in agony.
"It went on for quite a few days so I started thinking surely it's not just a sickness bug because usually that's just 24 hours.
"I asked her if she'd put anything in her mouth and finally she said she had eaten four magnetic balls.
"I was panicking. I'd read things before about how it can burn through organs because they're attracted to each other so I was just thinking about the worst case scenario.
"It was a mad rush from then - she was sick in my car on the way to A&E and when we got to hospital she was screaming in agony, it was horrible.
"At first they were talking about keeping her in and seeing if they were passing through her or not but then the next minute they said she's going to have to have emergency surgery."
Jane had rushed Melody to Royal Preston Hospital , where an x-ray confirmed the four magnetic balls were in her bowel.
Doctors initially hoped the mini magnets would be able to pass through without needing to be surgically removed.
But they had already perforated Melody's bowel in multiple places, Jane said, forcing them to transfer her to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for emergency surgery before they caused any further damage.
Thankfully, after almost six hours in surgery, the balls and 15 centimetres of Melody's damaged bowel were removed, with other perforations also successfully stitched up.
The mum of two was gobsmacked by the whole ordeal, having heard about cases involving other children before and warning both Melody and her older sister Lucia Bailey, 11, about the dangers.
But she says the pair were influenced by a social media trend to put the magnetic balls in their mouths as faux tongue and lip piercings, leading Melody to swallow some.
Jane said: "It was just awful seeing her in so much pain for so long because she's quite a tough cookie and doesn't cry much so when I saw her like that I thought it must be bad.
"I'd read stories about this before and told them don't put them in your mouth because they can burn through your organs and exactly that happened.
"But Melody said 'I've seen Lucia do it' - they do it on social media where they pretend they've got piercings on their tongue or lip and that's how they end up getting swallowed.
"Doctors said Melody was lucky really because sometimes they can end up with stomas or having to have all their bowels removed or it can even be life-threatening.
"It was a huge relief to know that they were out and she was going to be alright."
After a week-long recovery in hospital following her surgery, Melody has been 'lucky' enough to walk away with just a five-inch scar on her stomach and no lifelong health implications.
Her mum is now warning other parents to throw the magnetic balls out, as she has, after the surgeon informed her how common the life-threatening accident is.
Jane said: "The surgeon said you'd be surprised how often this happens - there was a little boy upstairs recovering from the same surgery.
"She said this happens at least once or twice a day and I just thought, how are they still selling them!
"They did have some of the magnetic balls at my house but since then obviously I've thrown them all away.
"I would advise parents not to buy them - they may seem like a fun little gadget but it's not worth the risks because it was a terrifying experience.
"It's fair enough if they want to produce these things but advertising them as a toy for children, I think that's disgusting because they're far from it. I absolutely think they should be banned as a toy."
