Mum’s Halloween warning after toddler ‘stopped breathing’ on Aldi sweet

A mum has warned parents about Halloween sweets after her two-year-old daughter choked on a jelly skull and was unable to breathe for almost three minutes.

Marie Johns, 45, had bought a £2.49 Trick or Treat Sweet Bag from Aldi’s North Road Retail Park in Darlington for daughter Mia Parkinson.

The Halloween-themed cat bag contained several packets of jelly sweets, including skulls and teeth.

Marie said Mia had eaten one sweet without a problem while the family decorated their home on October 17, before suddenly beginning to wheeze and turning purple.

The mum-of-two realised her daughter was choking and immediately began giving back blows before performing abdominal thrusts and calling 999.

She said Mia was unable to breathe properly for two minutes and 49 seconds before the 1.5cm jelly sweet was finally dislodged.

Marie said: “I noticed she was wheezing, I spun around and she was purple.

“I started doing back blows. I rang 999, she couldn’t breathe.

“It took me two minutes and 49 seconds to dislodge the sweet. I was hitting her back and doing stomach thrusts when it came flying out.

“She nearly lost consciousness. It was horrendous.”

Mia was taken by ambulance to Darlington Memorial Hospital, where she was examined before being discharged later the same day.

Marie, a singer-songwriter and former teaching assistant, said the experience had left her terrified and she had thrown the remaining sweets away.

She said: “It was very scary. I wouldn’t wish it on any parent ever.

“I think a lot of parents would be buying these for Halloween, which makes me worried.”

Aldi said the outer packaging of the Trick or Treat Sweet Bag carries a warning stating it is not suitable for children under three because of small parts which may pose a choking hazard, as well as loops which could pose a strangulation risk.

The individual 25g packets of sweets inside the bag do not carry the same age warning.

Manufacturer BIP Candy & Toys UK Limited said it was “very concerned” to hear about the reported incident and relieved Mia had been discharged from hospital.

A spokesperson said: “The product tag does include several warnings stating that the product is not suitable for children under three years of age and contains small parts which may pose a choking hazard.

“The individual sweet packets do not carry a separate age warning.

“The age warning is displayed on the outer retail packaging of the product which is by law required, which covers the whole product and its contents.”

The company said it takes product safety “very seriously” and was reviewing the information provided, but had not received a direct report of the incident and therefore could not comment on its specific circumstances.