A worried family have issued a warning to parents after a nine-year-old West Belfast boy required emergency surgery after swallowing a magnetic fidget ball.
On Sunday night Preston Adlam was taken to surgery where he had part of his bowel removed after he became seriously ill the night before.
The young boy had swallowed three magnetic fidget balls by accident when he was trying to copy a TikTok trend where people were using the balls to pretend that they had a tongue piercing.
It is understood that the magnetic balls came together inside his bowel, severely damaging it.
Preston is currently in hospital recovering from his surgery and has been told he cannot eat or drink for 48 hours so that doctors will be able to see the effect that the treatment has had on him.
His auntie Claire said: "Lots of children Preston's age have got into these magnetic fidget balls and are playing with them, but parent's need to know just how dangerous these can be.
"Preston had been using them and was following some TikTok trend where people put them on their tongue in order to pretend that they have a piercing and he has swallowed three of them by accident.
"He had been given them and his mum had no idea that he had them until it was too late.
"We had no idea that anything was wrong until he started becoming very seriously ill on Saturday night. On Sunday when he was at hospital he had to be rushed into emergency surgery where he had part of his bowel removed and we are now just waiting to see what happens going forward."
Following the incident, Preston's mum Lyndsey took to social media to warn other parents about the fidget toys.
She said: "So we all know that the new craze for kids are fidget toys, including these magnetic balls. If your kids have them please, please, please throw them in the bin now!
"My son Preston was playing with them pretending he had a tongue piercing, which resulted in him swallowing the balls…unbeknown to me!
"He became really sick and in a lot of pain for me to take him to hospital. A scan showed 3 magnetic balls in his bowel. He was rushed for emergency surgery where the balls were removed and also part of his bowel.
"This is no joke please throw them out if you have them, they are too dangerous and really should be illegal to sell."
Claire also echoed these concerns to parents saying: "These are sold as educational toys and are very cheap to buy and will be something easily accessible to children.
"Parents need to be aware of the dangers of these toys because a small accident can have horrendous consequences.
"We would just like to thank all of the doctors and nurses who have helped Preston since coming to hospital. The care that he has received has been amazing and we are all so grateful for their help."
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