Sheffield mum’s warning after disabled son's toy ‘explodes into hundreds of poisonous parts’

Mother-of-three Lindsay Pickering’s youngest son Charlie, who has autism, was sat with his dad Adam at their kitchen table when his Heroes of Goo Jit Zu: Ultimate Hero Supagoo Blazagon toy suddenly “exploded” with a loud bang on Tuesday evening.

“The toy was at the side of him and he was just feeling it. He wasn’t even playing with it,” said Lindsay, from Darnall.

“My son’s got autism, he likes the texture and feel of it because it’s a stretchy toy.”

The squeezy toy contains small parts which the manufacturer warns are not suitable for children under the age of three as they are a “choking hazard”.

“Hundreds of these little balls just shot into the air in my kitchen,” Lindsay added.

“The toys are all filled with these little balls which are poisonous. They contain something inside of them.”

Lindsay, 43, bought the toy from Smyths Toys Superstores in Sheffield.

When she returned it to the store on Wednesday, a staff member told her many of the action figures in the Goo Jit Zu range had been returned by customers citing similar problems.

“It’s a safety thing. If this is going to be a danger to kids that’s my worry. There could be a baby putting one of them inside its mouth,” Lindsay said.

“They’re everywhere, I’m still finding them. They are hard to spot for adults but a kid on the floor, or a baby, they are going to spot them.”

Staff advised Lindsay to get a refund on the item, but as it was at the top of Charlie’s Christmas list, she has exchanged it.

“It’s not as if they’re cheap, the one I bought was £40 and it’s not been bashed around either,” she added.

Stay-at-home mum Lindsay said 10-year-old Charlie was distraught over what happened.

“He was crying for about an hour and a half, screaming,” she said.

“I was trying to calm him down and his dad was sweeping up the mess. I think it frightened him to death, he was really upset.”

Several other customers have left negative reviews of the toy on the Smyths Toys Superstores website, with one person claiming the balls popped and stained her carpet.

Despite Linday’s experience – and those of others – the item was still on sale in the Sheffield store on Wednesday, she said.

“It’s quite scary. There would have been a lot of kids who got this for Christmas as it’s a phase that a lot of boys are having at the moment,” Lindsay added.

Smyths Toys Superstores have been approached for comment.