PARENTS are being warned about the dangers of potentially deadly batteries following the death of a toddler. 

In the run-up to Christmas, Renfrewshire Council's Trading Standards Team is warning about the possibly fatal consequences if a child swallows a button or coin battery as part of a national campaign being run by the Children’s Accident Prevention Trust.

Button and coin batteries are found in many household objects, children’s toys, remote controls and electronic items.

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Around two children a year die in the UK after swallowing the batteries, with many more being badly injured. 

On Christmas Eve last year, 17-month-old Hugh McMahon swallowed a button battery at his home in Motherwell. 

Surgeons battled for 12 hours to save him but despite their best efforts, the toddler later died. 

Tests showed that a hole the size of a 5p coin had been burned in his heart. 

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The Children’s Accident Prevention Trust website highlights the dangers of lithium button and coin batteries, saying: "If a lithium coin cell battery gets stuck in the food pipe, the battery reacts with saliva to create caustic soda.

"This is the same chemical used to unblock drains.

"This can burn through the food pipe, to the main artery and lead to catastrophic internal bleeding and death.

"The chemical reaction can happen in as little as two hours.

"However, sometimes it takes days or even weeks.

"Lithium coin cell batteries can also cause life-changing injuries.

"There is a risk that the food pipe may be too badly damaged for a child to eat normally again, or the vocal cords may be too badly damaged for a child to speak normally again."

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According to the Trust, children aged six months to four-and-a-half years are most at risk. 

Councillor Marie McGurk, convener of Renfrewshire Council’s communities and housing policy board, said: "We cannot stress enough how important it is to keep these batteries out of the reach of children.

"The law is very clear about toys which are powered by button or coin batteries – the batteries must be impossible for children to reach.

"For example, the battery cover may be held in place by a screw.

"But there are many other everyday items which have button or coin batteries where the battery cover is just a push fit.

"These include bathroom scales, night lights, thermometers and remote central locking car keys. The list goes on and on.

"This Christmas we urge parents and carers to check that anything they buy for their children meets the appropriate safety standards."

More information on button batteries is available from the Child Accident Prevention Trust HERE.