Mum calls for slushy ban after tot fell into 'comatose-like state' hours after 'toxic' drink

Four-year-old Luna Williams was shopping with her grandma Susan Williams when she asked for a blue slushy as a treat. But half an hour after consuming just a quarter of the iced drink, Luna began complaining of a headache, before vomiting in the car home and nearly passing out.

Horrified, 66-year-old Susan rang Luna's mum, Jess Mellors, and rushed her granddaughter home where she was very sleepy and fell into a 30-minute deep sleep she couldn't be roused from.

After researching online, Jess discovered that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued guidance in June advising that slush drinks containing glycerol should not be given to children under seven.

Jess - a 34 year-old stay-at-home mum - said her daughter didn't even have the energy to make it to bed before falling asleep on the floor.

Jess was considering taking little Luna to hospital but luckily her symptoms began to improve before she needed to seek medical intervention.

Now, the mum-of-five is calling for children should not be allowed to purchase slushies without their parents being present and should not be served to those under seven.

Jess, who lives in Tamworth, Staffordshire, said: "The day that it happened she was absolutely fine. But within a couple of hours, her nan had messaged me to say she was bringing her home because she wasn't very well and had thrown up."

Susan, a grandma-of-three, added: "We took Luna to the shop five minutes from us. She loves to go there.

"She asked for a slushy. My husband bought her the blue one. She was playing in the playground and coming back to our table every two minutes to have a little sip. She'd drunk maybe a quarter of the small cup and she told us that her head hurt.

"By the end, she'd drunk maybe half the drink in an hour. As we were walking to the car, she just let out this almighty burp. Everyone turned around and looked.

"She was distressed. It all happened so quickly. Even at that point did I really suspect the drink. My husband picked her up and we put her in the car. She kept saying 'my head' and then she was retching, almost passing out."

After taking Luna back home, terrified mum Jess said her daughter couldn't even make it to bed before 'passing out' on the floor.

Luckily, Luna has since made a full recovery since the incident in September last year - but the ordeal has made Jess adamant that the drinks should not be served to children.

Jess said: "They brought her home and it seemed like she'd gone into some sort of comatose state. She was very lethargic and sleepy. She couldn't even make it to bed. She just lay down on the floor. She didn't have the energy to make it to bed.

"She wouldn't wake up, which was worrying to me because she'd gone straight to sleep. I knew straight away something wasn't right.

"I looked online and gave her some juice to help bring the sugar levels back up. It was evident it was the slushy. They're for kids, yet they're dangerous for kids. They're toxic.

"I was going to take her to hospital until she seemed to get better after the juice. I thought she was going to lose consciousness. Even if there's a warning that kids can't buy these slushies without their parents, then it's down to the parents then.

"It should be treated the same as an energy drink. A child should not be allowed to buy them. She's never having those again."