Magnetic Putty children's toy banned over arsenic fears

A children's toy has been removed from sale after it was found to have seven times the amount of arsenic permitted.

The product, labelled Magnetic Putty, contained a bag of putty and a small cube magnet.

Northamptonshire Trading Standards Service said the magnet was 29 times over the allowed magnetic force and could be "easily swallowed".

It added that it was just this specific product that had been removed, rather than all magnetic putties.

The product, bought from a market stall in the county, also had twice the amount of lead allowed.

It was labelled as not suitable for 0-3 years but did not include a CE mark to show it complied with the essential safety requirement for toys.

There was also no identification of the manufacturer or importer.

Northamptonshire Trading Standards Service said: "The lack of these details indicates that a proper safety assessment of the toy may not have been made and makes tracing and removal of the product from sale slower and more difficult."