PARENTS are being warned about the dangers of the latest toy craze which could potentially strangle a child.

Yo-yo balls, brightly-coloured liquid filled rubber balls, usually covered with rubber spikes and attached to a stretchy cord, are on sale in East Lancashire for between £1 and £2.

Trading standards officers have been told of several incidents in the UK, including one in Lancashire, of young children who almost died after the cord became wrapped around their necks.

Officers are now asking retailers and market stallholders to remove the toy from sale and any parents who may have bought the toy for their children to bin it.

Lancashire County Council's public protection cabinet member Coun Doreen Pollitt said: "The safety of children is of the utmost importance.

"These toys pose a clear risk of strangulation and parents should take steps to prevent their children playing with them.

"Retailers should act responsibly and ensure stocks of the toys are removed from sale."

When playing with the toy, the child throws the ball which is returned by an elastic cord.

The cord stretches very thinly without breaking and if the yo-yo ball is swung about the head, the cord can wind tightly around the neck and throat, potentially causing strangulation.

Many different companies sell variations of the toys under different names and in different packaging.

The toy has been examined by a paediatric safety consultant who decided the toys posed a clear health hazard.

The complaint received in Lancashire was from a mother whose seven-year-old daughter had the toy wrapped around her neck five or six times.

While no serious injury occurred, the girl was left with scratching and bruising on her neck.

In one incident in Middlesbrough, a child had to be resuscitated after her heart stopped after she was playing with a yo-yo ball in the playground.