Dad calls for ban on lollipops after son, five, almost choked to death

14 November 2019, 12:18 | Updated: 14 November 2019, 12:23

A dad has called for lollipops to be banned after his five-year-old son nearly died when he was given one on Halloween.

Brett Cole, 31, has described the terrifying moment his little boy Bobby, five, passed out when the sweet became stuck in his throat.

The dad said while he doesn’t usually let his children eat lollipops, he let them enjoy the treat after they got them during trick-or-treating.

In a detailed Facebook post, Brett said Bobby was sat with his mum Deanna when he started to make "choking noises" after the sweet detached from the stick.

His mum was then forced to give him first aid, as Brett explained: “We've seen a couple of things before about lollies, so we don't normally give them to our children.

"But they had been given a few in their Halloween sweets and they had been good and asked to have them, so we let them.

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"My wife was sat next to Bobby on the sofa and he just started choking on it.

"Deanna shouted for me and I hit him hard on the back, to no effect.”

The dad continued: "He passed out and he went floppy. My wife gave him the Heimlich manoeuvre and after several thrusts it came out with sick and blood."

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Brett, who lives in Plymouth, Devon, said the incident was "easily the worst experience" of his life.

Thankfully, his son was "in a bit of shock" but made a full recovery after he was taken to hospital.

He added: "I just want to make people aware of the dangers. We all burst out crying, we were so worried.

"We're going to ban the lollies."

The Facebook post has now been shared more than 800 times, with many parents posting their own experiences.

One person replied: "I've always been terrified of these lollies - choking and tooth rot issues. And the little boy's feet in the photo look as if he'd been struggling for oxygen: very purple 😲"

Another added: "I'm so glad you son ok ...hate them too... ban the sale of them..."

Urging his followers to follow in his lead, Brett later added: “Please guys take this from me ban these lollies. I never post on Facebook but please take my advice.

"We have all cried our eyes out but Bobby is ok, he may not have been.

"Bobby is five and I stupidly thought this was old enough. I won't make that mistake again, make sure you don't!"