A mother in County Donegal has warned parents to inspect children's Halloween sweets after discovering metal pins embedded inside bars and confectionery collected during trick-or-treating. Gardaí have confirmed they are investigating the incident.
Magnet check reveals hidden pins
Savannah McDaid from Donegal, Ireland, said she decided to check her son's sweets with a magnet after returning home from an evening of trick-or-treating. She had seen videos online highlighting the importance of ensuring treats are safe.
Running the magnet over the sweet wrappers revealed a pin concealed within the bars and confectionery, leaving her "completely shaken," as reported by the Irish Mirror.
Mother's urgent warning on Facebook
In a Facebook post, McDaid urged other parents to always carefully inspect their children's Halloween sweets before allowing them to eat them. She wrote that she never imagined she would "find something so dangerous in a sweet given to children."
She described the experience: "I had my little boy out trick or treating this evening it was a fun time for us until we came home, he got loads of sweets but mum had mentioned to me about the videos going around about checking your kids sweets, I got a magnet and started to check all of his sweets to only find something I never thought I would find there was a couple of his sweets and bars that stuck to the magnet so I opened them and broke them up only to find a pin hidden in the bars and sweets."
She added: "It's a very dangerous this especially for kids excited to eat their sweets, I just want to put this up to warn other parents to check their kids sweets before letting them eat them because I never thought I would ever find something so dangerous in a sweet given to children."
Gardaí investigate incident
McDaid also expressed frustration that children cannot enjoy trick-or-treating without such risks, saying, "It's terrible that kids can't go out trick or treating and have fun and enjoy the excitement of getting to eat their sweets at home, it's ruining the fun for the kids. I honestly don't know what is going on in this world today. It's a disgrace."
She shared pictures of the pins in the sweets and bars to help others know what to look out for, and asked people to share the warning.
Gardaí have confirmed they received a report about the incident on Halloween night. A Garda spokesperson told the Irish Mirror: "Gardaí received report of an incident which occurred on 31 October in the Ballybofey / Stranorlar area in Co. Donegal. Enquiries are ongoing."
