A SCHOOL has banned mini-toys from a must-have range of footwear after a pupil choked on a piece from one of the toys.

The latest craze among primary school children is a pair of Clarks shoes that come with a removable toy in the heel - the girls' shoe has a doll and the boys' shoe has a small car.

Catriona Campbell-Hardy, aged seven, a pupil at St Peter's Primary School in Bury, was playing with the mini doll during lunchtime break when she swallowed one of its arms.

The youngster was taken to Fairfield General Hospital, where she was observed for six hours before being allowed home.

The school in Whitefield Road decided to ban the toys on safety grounds and letters were sent to parents saying that pupils were still allowed to wear the shoes, but the toys must be left at home.

Headteacher Mrs Jillienne Scholes said: "Many children have been wearing the shoes, unbeknown to us that they have toys inside.

"When we found out that a child had swallowed an arm, we alerted the first-aid team and they contacted her mum who took her to hospital."

The ban has been welcomed by Catriona's mother, Charlotte Hardy, of Redvales Road, Bury. She said: "The doctor said she could have died because it was big enough to get stuck in her windpipe."

She has taken the shoes away from Catriona and her sister Olivia, aged five.

A Clarks representative visited Ms Hardy on Friday to give her a refund and provide a different pair of shoes, free of charge.