Playground toy banned after failing safety tests

A fluid-filled ball on a rubber string that has proved a hit in playgrounds across the country became the first toy to be banned in Britain in more than a decade yesterday.

The yo-ball was ordered off the shelves after failing government safety tests. A spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry said: "The supply of yo-balls is banned with immediate effect after tests have shown that the toy could pose a risk of strangulation." He said there were eight reported incidents of children choking on the toy in the past month. In two cases, children lost consciousness. Olivia Henderson, six, from Middlesbrough, suffered a burst blood vessel in an eye when the string wound itself around her neck.

An estimated 5 million yo-balls, which first went on sale about two months ago, have been imported from China. The toycosts about £2 and is distributed by several suppliers, who have been told of the ban.

Yo-balls were banned in France and Switzerland because of several serious accidents.

The last toy to be taken off the shelves in Britain was also a ball filled with fluid. It was banned in 1992 after children broke off parts of the ball and choked on them.