Cheshire West council launches Operation Elf and Safety to guard against dangerous Christmas decorations

Dec 3 2009 Chester Chronicle

CHESHIRE West and Chester Council’s Trading Standards Officers have launched Operation Elf and Safety to make sure that unsafe Christmas decorations and novelties are not given to children.

Officers are urging shoppers to look carefully at warnings because there a wide range of decorations which are appealing to children but unlike toys they do not have to comply with strict European standards for safety.

As part of the Elf and Safety campaign Trading Standards officers selected 30 products from a wide range of shops to assess how safe Christmas decorations and novelties actually are. All the products selected looked like toys but the initial screen testing revealed that they could pose a danger to children.

The most common failure was small parts which could be pulled off and could cause a choking hazard to small children. Some products carried warnings but the lettering in some cases was ½ mm high and difficult to read. Brightly coloured Christmas stockings were labelled with a warning ‘Keep out of reach from children’ when most parents would assume that a stocking was intended to be given to a child.

Some of the items will be now sent for further testing and investigations will be carried out where failures are confirmed.

Area and Community Services Executive Member Councillor Lynn Riley, whose portfolio including Trading Standards said: “We want residents to have a safe and happy Christmas. These items are not toys and parents should check the warnings. If you are not sure don’t take the risk.”

Regulatory Services Manager Vanessa Griffiths said: “Regulatory Services has a role in both educating consumers and addressing the problem with importers and retailers.

“We are not suggesting people shouldn’t buy Christmas novelties but consumers should not let children play with Christmas items unless it is clear they have met safety standards. Look out for the CE mark.”

If you have a consumer problem over the festive period, contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 who will refer the matter to Trading Standards if appropriate.