Laser pens put children at risk, minister warns

THE Government is clamping down on the import and sale of high-strength laser pens after an eight-year-old boy permanently damaged his eye using a pen he bought at a school fair.

Jonathan Marshall shone the laser into his eye for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to leave him with a burn to his retina that could prevent him from driving as an adult.

Anna Soubry, the business minister, has demanded an urgent safety notice be issued across the country to warn parents about the dangers of the pens. Retailers will also be alerted of the dangers of importing and selling illegal high-strength laser pens, particularly those made in China, and swift criminal action will be brought against those caught selling the pens.

Low-strength laser pens – often used as a presentation aid – are legal for general sale in Britain, but only very weak versions are allowed to be sold to children.

The Government is looking at whether new rules need to be introduced to ban the sale to children completely and to clamp down on cases of pens used to target pilots flying into UK airports. EU regulations and import rules could also be toughened to stop highstrength laser pens, some of which have a range of 215miles, reaching the UK

Ms Soubry described the sale of laser pens to children as “perverse” and warned there were over 150 known instances of eye-damage in children because of the devices, with the total number likely to be higher.

She said: “Laser pens have a role, but should be bought by those who intend to use them for perfectly proper purposes. The idea of selling them to children seems perverse. I cannot see how that can possibly be legal – actually, I am of the view that it must be illegal – which is why we are contacting trading standards officers and also, of course, the police.”

A full criminal investigation is under way into the case of Jonathan Marshall, from Hertfordshire, after he used his pocket money to buy a laser pen at a school fair. His mother Angela has called for all lasers sold as toys to be banned in the UK and those used for work purposes to be licensed. She told The Sunday Tele

graph: “He’s got a burn at the back of his eye that will always be there and they’re not sure whether he will be able to drive a car – they think he will, but they’re not sure. He won’t be able to do graphs because he struggles to see the lines, and it is difficult for him in school.”