Mum warns parents of dangers of lollipops after son, two, choked on one while sitting on her lap

A mum-of-two whose son choked on a lollipop as he sat on her lap has warned parents to be wary of the sweet treats.

Amy Mantle, 33, issued the warning to fellow parents after her two-year-old son Baker had the near miss while with her at the hairdressers.

The toddler had been given the lolly to enjoy as he sat on his mum's lap while she got her hair done.

But disaster struck when the sweet came off the end of the stick and got stuck in Baker's throat, stopping him from breathing.

His mum struggled to remove the sweet from his throat but her hairdresser came to the rescue by holding Baker upside down and repeatedly hitting his back, eventually dislodging the lollipop after a terrifying 30 seconds.

Mantle, a public speaker and the founder of children's boutique blessieandbaker.com, is now sharing her experience to warn other parents, as well as advocating first aid training for mums and dads.

The 33-year-old, of Bispham, Blackpool, said: "Normally I’m so paranoid about things and I never give my children lollies, grapes or Maltesers, but I thought because 'he’s sat on my knee and he’s really behaving, one won’t hurt'.

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"It made me realise that a one-off could be fatal and awareness is needed for the dangers of these lollies.

"It was just horrific and I was shaking all day – I'll never forgive myself for putting him or myself through that."

She praised her hairdresser for saving the day and said the incident showed that things can go wrong even when children are being closely supervised.

"I’ve never experienced anything like that fear in my life," she added. "If my hairdresser wasn’t there Baker wouldn’t be here today.

"I will never say a one-off won’t hurt, it made me realise the fact I don’t actually have first aid training and a lot of mums don’t.

"My advice to other parents is never give children lollies, I think they should be banned and a lot of people feel the same.

"Just always trust your gut – a one-off really can be fatal and it’s just not worth the risk."