Brighton mum issues warning to parents after toy burnt

Sam Lyons, from Woodingdean was in her room when her 11-year-old daughter came running in saying her toy was burning.

Her daughter Summer was given a microwavable elephant plush toy for Christmas and she mistakenly put the whole toy in the microwave instead of the insert.

“She popped it in the microwave for two minutes and took it up to her room,” Sam told The Argus.

The toy after it began burning (Image: Sam Lyons)

Summer put her toy on to her bed and within a minute it started crackling and smoking.

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The stuffing beads were coming out of a hole that had been burnt through.  

Summer threw the toy onto the floor but it had already burnt plastic onto her new mattress.

Sam said: “We went into her room and it was full of this toxic smelling smoke.

“We took the toy downstairs and put it in the sink. It was like a barbecue.

“We didn’t know what to do because there was no tag on the outside of the toy.”

The elephant toy was from TK Maxx (Image: Sam Lyons)

Summer has had toys similar to this one, bought at TK Maxx in North Street, Brighton, before. They act like a hot water bottle. Microwavable toys come in different versions, some of which can be put in whole while others you have to remove an insert and only that can be microwaved.

Sam later found there was velcro on the base of the toy to remove the insert but said it was "well hidden" and the only labels on the toy with information on how to heat it were on the inside.

The outer packaging had instructions for use but had been thrown away in the clear up after Christmas.

A hole in Summer's mattress from the toy (Image: Sam Lyons)

“It could have been so much worse,” Sam said.

“Summer sleeps with a canopy and that could have gone up in flames too.

“We just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

“So many of these toys will have been sold up and down the country and even more in the sales.

 “Summer is 11 so she knew what to do but if you gave it to a little one it could have ended so badly.”

A spokeswoman for TK Maxx said: “The microwaveable products we stock adhere to strict safety standards, featuring explicit heating instructions for use under adult supervision. We advise customers to read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully when using any heated product.”