Parents are being told to check their children’s toy cupboards after Mattel admitted that it had sold nearly two million dangerous items in Britain and Ireland.

It has recalled 71 types of toy including Barbie doll accessories and Disney-themed cars because of fears over loose magnets and unsafe levels of lead in paint. The toys, sold between January 2002 and January this year, contain parts that can be fatal if swallowed, safety watchdogs said yesterday.

Children who swallow more than one magnet risk the magnets sticking together in their gut, causing injuries that require surgery. Three children in America suffered intestinal perforations after swallowing magnets in Mattel products and one child died after ingesting magnets from another toy. Mattel has received more than 570 reports of magnets coming loose from its toys.

The products sold in Britain are from the Polly Pocket, Doggie Daycare, Batman Magna and Barbie doll ranges. The company has also recalled 49,000 die-cast models of the Sarge character from the Disney film Cars because they were coated with paint containing high levels of lead.

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The recall, announced yesterday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the United States, comes less than a fortnight after Mattel pulled 94,000 Fisher-Price toys from Britain and Ireland because of high levels of lead in paint used by one of the Chinese subcontractors.

A Chinese businessman, Zhang Shuhong, hanged himself last weekend after authorities in his country moved to punish his Lee Der Industrial Company for using the wrong paint.

Mattel also recalled eight types of toy last November because of reports of loose magnets. The company refused to rule out further recalls. Brian Stockton, executive vice-president of Mattel, said that the company would enforce new rules that would require every batch of paint to be tested. Mattel said that it will also increase random inspections of its vendors and test every production run.

The Trading Standards Institute was notified of the recall yesterday morning but did not make an announcement because it was not sure whether the information supplied by Mattel was confidential. Greg Wilson, team leader for the Windsor and Maidenhead area, where Mattel’s British headquarters is based, said that he preferred to let the company control the news of the recall.

Mattel is recalling 18.2 million magnetic toys and 436,000 painted toys globally. They were sold to customers before January, after which Mattel started using “enhanced magnet retention systems” for all its toys.

In a video on the company website, Robert Eckert, the chief executive, said: “We are deeply apologetic to everyone affected. Mattel has rigorous procedures, and we will continue to be vigilant and unforgiving in enforcing quality and safety.”

There have been no reports of injuries as a result of the manufacturing problems, a British spokeswoman for the toy manufacturer said.

The announcement is the latest in a string of product recalls for goods made in China including tainted pet food, poisonous toothpaste and defective car tyres.

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