A PETRIFIED grandmother has issued an urgent warning after a popular toy “exploded” while it was on charge.

The toy manufacturer, Kids Garby, has now launched an investigation after Leigh businesswoman, Lisa Blatch, claimed that her grandson’s Crawling Crab “almost set her house on fire”.

The firm has also contacted all customers with “this particular version” and ordered them not to use the toy and offered refunds.

Lisa, who owns Scape Interiors in Leigh, said she heard a loud bang while the toy was charging, and then found it melting on her kitchen worktop. She had purchased the toy for £30.

She said: “Lenny loved the toy. I bought it after seeing an advert on Instagram. It is supposed to be good for babies during tummy time, when they are on their tummies. It builds their strength. He absolutely loved it.

“Luckily it was charging on a granite worktop and it just exploded. There was a huge bang and it started to burn from the inside. I just want to warn people this can happen.

“The company refunded my money immediately and said it had never happened before but a couple of people have said it happened to them.”

Ms Blatch also took to her company’s Facebook page to warn others.

Read more >> Dad offered free holiday after saving child's life at hotel

She said: “This crawling crab toy which my grandson loves, which I bigged up on social media last week almost set our house on fire.

“I dread to think what could have happened if it had been close to anything flammable.

“This toy is being heavily marketed for newborn babies via Insta ads so just wanted to warn anybody who has it or is thinking of buying it.”

The post prompted other customers to say they had similar issues.

The toy is sold widely by many toy retailers in the UK but a spokeswoman for Kids Garby said: “We were very shocked that this happened, so we are looking into this internally with the manufacturer.”

The spokesman added: “The customers with this particular version have received a message from us not to use the toy and received a refund. Thankfully, it was only a handful of customers.

“As compensation, they can also choose a free product from our webshop.”

Anyone who bought the toy from this company and has concerns is urged to email hello@kidsgarby.com