A Suffolk company director has been fined �2,500, and ordered to pay full costs of nearly �7,500, for importing and selling unsafe toys.

Following prosecution by Suffolk Trading Standards, Ian Ford pleaded guilty at Bury Magistrates Court to 12 charges under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

Suffolk Trading Standards officers prosecuted Ford, sole director of I.K.F. International Ltd, when his company was found to be responsible for the distribution of seriously unsafe toys.

Tests on the products showed that plastic toy guns and a bow and arrow set imported by the company failed to comply with toy safety standards. The suction cups on the arrows and darts could easily become detached and posed a choking risk for young children.

The toys, which were also not labelled with any warnings or instructions, were found being sold in a discount shop in Newmarket in May 2010 as part of a countywide product safety project. Further samples of toys imported by I.K.F. International Ltd also failed safety tests carried out by Worcestershire Regulatory Services after they discovered them being sold in their area in June 2010.

Nearly 5000 toys have been seized from the company and will be destroyed.