A mother has described how she got a lot more than she bargained for when buying her daughter a Christmas present online.
Leanne Anger bought a Fingerling puppet for six-year-old Lila on eBay, but found blood on the packaging and two razor blades taped to the box when it arrived.
There was no problem with the actual toy, but the grim discovery she made when opening the box made a lasting impression on the mum from Swindon, Wiltshire.
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Credit: SWNS
The 32-year-old is convinced that someone deliberately booby trapped the box, but is completely mystified as to why anyone would want to do that.
It also appears that whoever taped the blades inside the packaging deliberately cut themselves and bled on the box, which is equally as baffling.
Leanne said: "I ordered it off eBay from a company based in London. Well, the page said it was based in London but since then I've found out they are based in Hong Kong.
"I was a bit suspicious. I'd heard stories about people getting ripped off.
"The one I ordered was advertised as a genuine Fingerling but given how in demand they are I was ready for it to be a fake."
She added: "My first thought was that someone had innocently left [the razor blades] there.
"The more I thought about it the more I became suspicious that it could not have been an accident. Someone had clearly cut themselves and bled into the box.
Credit: SWNS
"I think it was one hundred per cent intentional. I didn't want to come to that conclusion but I couldn't ignore it.
"I just want people to be careful over the Christmas period when they are ordering their presents online. People need to be cautious because there are malicious people out there.
"Normally I wouldn't want to open the box before Christmas. I'd want Lila to be able to do from under the tree once it was wrapped up.
"But I had suspicion that it would be a knock off counterfeit. I'm just glad I did."
Leanne has lodged a complaint and eBay are now investigating the incident.
Fingerlings are made by WowWee, though they have encountered problems with counterfeit toys being sold online.
A spokesperson said: "We know Fingerlings is a high-demand toy, and we're working very closely with our retail partners to ensure stores are stocked this holiday season."
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Words: Tom Wood