Ikea recalls faulty high chairs after children are injured from falling out when safety belt fails



By
Suzannah Hills

Last updated at 10:30 AM on 5th January 2012

Furniture giant Ikea is urging parents who purchased a certain batch of high chairs to get in touch after several children were injured because of faulty safety belts.

The £10.99 Antilop self-assemble high chair has a plastic seat and comes with a safety belt included.

But the retailer warns that a batch of the high chairs have faulty belts that ‘open unexpectedly’.

Recalled: The Antilop high chair - from supplier #17389 and production date 0607-0911 - that has a fault safety belt

Recalled: The Antilop high chair – from supplier #17389 and production date 0607-0911 – that has a fault safety belt

So far, stores have received eight complaints of the belt opening, causing children to fall, resulting in three minor injuries.

Customers can see whether their chair is from the faulty batch by checking the codes moulded into the underside of the seat.

Only Antilop chairs – which come in colours red, blue and white – from supplier #17389 and production date 0607-0911 are affected.

Any customers with this code on their Antilop high chair is being asked to contact the store’s customer services department immediately.

In a statement, the company said: ‘The high chair belt can open unexpectedly in use, creating a fall hazard.

‘Ikea has received eight reports of belt opening, including three resulting in minor injury when a child fell from the high chair.

‘No other high chairs are affected. Ikea apologises for any inconvenience this may cause.’

On the Ikea website the Antilop high chair is described as ‘easy to disassemble and carry along’.

It adds that the Antilop is ‘a highchair helps your child develop their eating and social skills’.

Ikea store in Ashton under Lyme, Manchester

Ikea store in Ashton under Lyme, Manchester

This is not the first time Ikea – the world’s largest furniture retailer – has had to recall a high chair product.

In 2009, Ikea issued an urgent recall of the popular ‘Leopard’ high chair after a child suffered bruising in a fall.

The ‘Leopard’ chair had faulty locks securing the seat to the frame of the unit, which has resulted in at least one child falling through the frame, injuring their legs.

While the chairs were manufactured and tested according to European and
UK safety guidelines, the snap locks themselves were also found to be a choking hazard and Ikea called for all who purchased the chair at the time to return it for a full refund.

Customers who have purchased an affected Antilop chair can visit their local Ikea store or contact customer services on 0845 358 3364  to receive a replacement belt free of charge.

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