Police probe after girl injured by razor in Halloween chocolate

‘Something needs to be done, these people are clearly targeting young children,’ mother warns

Essex Police pleaded for anyone with information to come forward (Tracey Pleydell / SWNS)

A a teenage girl was injured after she bit into a Halloween chocolate bar which had a razor blade hidden inside.

Libby Pleydell, 14, went trick-or-treating with friends earlier this week.

After returning home with her haul, she took a bath and bit into a Curly Wurly bar before she felt something sharp in her mouth.

Her mother Tracey Pleydell, 49, said: “All of a sudden I heard Libby shouting and screaming.

“Libby wasn’t talking properly. I thought she was pranking me – I saw blood on her lip but I knew she had fake blood for her costume.

“Then she said she found something sharp. Then she showed me the Curly Wurly and there was a blade sticking out of it. I felt sick.”

Libby had cut her bottom lip with a razor blade that had been hidden in the Halloween-sized bar given to her while trick or treating in Laindon, Essex.

Schoolworker Ms Pleydell, from Laindon, said: “I think if it hadn’t been for her braces it would have been so much worse.

“Now Libby’s doing ok, she doesn’t know what the fuss is all about.

“I don’t think she realises the severity of what could have happened. If it had been a younger kid they may have swallowed it.

“Something needs to be done, these people are clearly targeting young children. You hear about these things happening but you never expect it to happen to your own family.”

The incident was reported to police on the night it occurred, 31 October, with Essex Police confirming an investigation is underway.

Officers have since contacted Cadbury’s, which is also looking into the incident.

Ms Pleydell is now warning other parents to check their children’s candy after the “disgusting” and “dangerous” incident.

A similar incident last year saw a 12-year-old approached by a masked man who handed her a chocolate while she was trick or treating.

When she ate the chocolate, she felt metal on her tongue and a small metal object was found inside the sweet.

Essex Police has urged anyone with information relating to the Laindon incident to get in contact.

A spokesperson said: “We have received a report of an incident in Laindon which took place [on] Monday 31 October. It is reported that a teenage girl had opened a chocolate bar which had a razor blade within it. It is reported that this chocolate bar was obtained by the victim while trick or treating.

“We are now investigating the circumstances around the report. We need anyone with information to let us know.”

SWNS