A mother has told how her two-year-old daughter stopped breathing for nearly three minutes after choking on a jelly sweet from an Aldi Halloween treat bag. Marie Johns, 45, from Darlington, County Durham, gave her daughter Mia Parkinson one of the sweets while they were decorating their house for Halloween.
Mia suddenly began wheezing and turned purple. Ms Johns, a singer and songwriter, delivered back blows and then stomach thrusts before dialling 999. The sweet became dislodged after two minutes and 49 seconds, and Mia was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital by ambulance. She was checked over and discharged later that day with no internal damage found.
Mother's account of the incident
Ms Johns, a former teaching assistant, said she had bought the jelly sweets as a Halloween treat. She described giving Mia one sweet, which she ate without issue, before noticing her wheezing. "I started doing back thrusts. I rang 999, she couldn't breathe. It took me two minutes and 49 seconds to dislodge the sweet. I was whacking her back and doing stomach thrusts when it came flying out," she said.
She added: "She nearly lost consciousness, it was horrendous. Two seconds more, she'd have blacked out I think." Paramedics found fluids on Mia's lungs. Ms Johns said she believed Mia would have died without her help and has now banned the sweets from her home, saying they should not be sold or given to any child.
Product warnings and manufacturer response
The sweets came in a £2.49 Trick or Treat Sweet Bag from Aldi, which features a label warning it is not suitable for children under three years old "due to small parts, which may pose a choking hazard and loops which may pose a strangulation hazard". The individual 25g sweet packets inside the cat-themed bag do not carry a separate age warning, which Ms Johns said means they should not be sold to children.
Sweet manufacturer BIP Candy & Toys UK Limited said the age warning is displayed on the outer retail packaging of the product, which is required by law and covers the whole product and its contents. A spokesperson said: "We are very concerned to hear about this reported incident and relieved to understand that the child was discharged from hospital. Our thoughts are with the child and her family following what must have been a very distressing experience. 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 spokesperson added: "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. We take product safety very seriously and are reviewing the information provided to us. As we have not yet received a direct report of this incident, we are not currently in a position to comment on the specific circumstances."
Ms Johns said she would now only give her daughter chocolate buttons for Halloween, and that Mia will not be allowed sweets again after the experience.
