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When a father snapped up a popular Christmas present for his young daughter, he thought he had hit the jackpot.

He did not realise that he had actually bought her a potentially harmful DIY tool.

Now, Stuart Broll hopes that his story can serve as a warning to other families across Teesside.

The 40-year-old from Billingham knew that Frozen-mad Lydia would love the snap watch he found on eBay.

Intending to use it as a stocking filler, the motor mechanic put it away for safe keeping, not giving it another thought.

But after seeing a warning on Facebook about a little girl - a similar age to his daughter - whose face had been cut by an exact replica, Stuart wanted to check the product he had purchased from China.

He said: “I cut down the casing as I was worried that what had happened to the other little girl could happen to Lydia.

“When I looked inside, I saw that it was a tape measure which had been cut down.

“It’s like running your finger across a knife.

“I was horrified that I could have given something like that to my daughter.”

Stuart noticed from the eBay site that about 3,500 items had been shipped out from the seller.

He said: “Frozen and Disney are obviously very popular and children want these products for Christmas.

“You can get good deals off the internet but it is worth paying more to know you are getting the real deal.

“I paid £2.50, so maybe I should have been wary, but you can get good, cheap things from all over the place, so I didn’t give it a second thought.

“I am just so grateful that the power of social media is so strong these days that I was able to see the story about the other little girl, and stop mine from being harmed.

“I hope that this will help other families like mine.”

Stockton Council's Cabinet member for housing and community safety, Councillor Steve Nelson, said: “Internet sites like eBay can be an easy target for counterfeiters to sell their goods so the public should be vigilant, as what appears to be a bargain may in fact turn out to be a fake.

“The sale of counterfeit goods undermines legitimate businesses and takes advantage of innocent members of the public.

“It is not tolerated and all cases reported to us will be investigated.

“Anyone who suspects they have been sold counterfeit goods should contact Trading Standards on 01642 526560.”