The company’s statement follows a story this week regarding a boy in the USA, who was hospitalised after swallowing magnets contained in an Imden brand toy bought on Amazon.com.

The copycat toy was incorrectly identified as Magformers in the media and on social media.

While the product in question has been removed from Amazon.com, it’s still available for sale on Amazon.co.uk.

An official statement from the Magformers UK managing director, David Kelly, reads: “While our thoughts are very much with the White family, it is important to state that the product in question is not a Magformers product – but a cheap copycat product that was bought online. It has now been withdrawn from sale by Amazon.com.

Authentic Magformers products have all been safety tested to all relevant International Toy Safety Standards. Retailers, particularly e-tailers, should not seek out a cheap alternative to Magformers or, worse still, buy clearly counterfeited product, as the consequences are regrettably clear for all to see.

Authentic, safe Magformers products are only available in the UK to the trade directly from Magformers UK. While Magformers takes an active role in stopping as many instances of fakes and copies as we can, retailers also have a responsibility to source their stock through approved suppliers and channels.

Unfortunately, despite our attempts to protect our brand, fake and copy products do make their way online. Some of them are passed off under the Magformers name. Others claim that they ‘work with’ or are ‘compatible with’ Magformers. These are not genuine Magformers, have not been tested by Magformers, are not affiliated with Magformers and do not adhere to Magformers quality standards.

Additionally, parents should be aware of these copycat products and counterfeits when making their purchase decisions and take an active role in ensuring safe and fun play. We urge consumers to only buy from authorised Magformers retailers (in the UK these include Tesco, Argos, Smyths Toys, John Lewis, Dobbies, Hamleys, Eason, Toymaster, QVC, Groupon and Magformers.co.uk), and to look for the Magformers brand logo and ‘Original Magformers’ round logo on packaging.”