Dead girl’s injury from ingesting toilet freshener was world first, inquest told

A Two-year-old girl who died after apparently swallowing a toilet freshener capsule is thought to be the first child in the world to have suffered such an injury, an inquest has heard.

Arietta-grace Barnett, from Sarisbury Green, Hampshire, was taken to hospital amid fears she had ingested the cleaner on June 28, 2019 and began vomiting a “bright pink” liquid, the Winchester hearing has been told.

She was declared well enough to leave hospital on July 2 before attending an outpatient appointment the following day.

But after Arietta-grace began bleeding on July 9, she was readmitted to Southampton

General Hospital and died that day.

Coroner Rosamund RhodesKemp said Arietta-grace was believed to have swallowed a Toilet Duck capsule.

She said there is an issue around child-proofing the product which parents and manufacturers need to be aware of.

She explained that another potential problem with the product is that it is designed to slow-release “globules” of chemicals.

Ms Rhodes-kemp said: “The child-proofing wasn’t child proof because it had definitely been tampered with at the top and according to mum, that was done by one of the children.

“It was possible for this to be opened, that is an issue and will have implications to manufacturers and parents about how they keep this type of product.”

Paediatric surgeon Simon Keys told the hearing that if a chemical from the product had caused such a significant injury as suffered by Arietta-grace, “that hasn’t been described in a child before”.