A DAD whose baby was killed by a button battery burning a hole in his heart is calling for the pill-sized power cells to be banned.
Hugh McMahon, 29, insists plans to make them safer do not go far enough to prevent another child dying.
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He fears calls to coat them in bitter chemicals will not stop kids putting them in their mouths.
We told how the shattered father lost son Hughie after the one-year-old swallowed a button battery that fell from a £16 teddy bear.
Hugh, of Motherwell, said: “Babies have no sense when it comes to putting things in their mouths.
“They eat things all the time no matter the taste.“
“Producers say it will greatly reduce the risk of ingestion.
“But it won’t completely eliminate the danger.
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“Only an outright ban on button batteries will keep them safe.”
Duracell has begun coating one side of its button cells with a Bitrex ring.
The chemical is the most bitter in the world and is added to household and industrial products to discourage swallowing.
Other manufacturers have been urged to follow Duracell’s lead.
The UK Government ordered manufacturers and retailers to include warnings and improve packaging in a safety shake-up last year.
Toy firm launch safety probe as Scots baby died after swallowing battery from teddy
Charity The Harper-Lee Foundation wants an outright ban in non-essential goods.
It is named after a two-year-old who died after swallowing one from a remote control in Abbey Hulton, Staffs, last year.
Hugh and partner Christine McDonald, 32, had to make the harrowing decision to turn off Hughie’s life support after his organs failed and his blood turned “acidic” just days after he fell ill on Christmas Eve.
The grieving parents have launched a petition in a bid to force a sales ban.
Toymaker VTech confirmed it has launched a safety probe amid fears the cell came from their Swing & Sing Monkey plush.
lTO sign the battery ban petition, visit here.
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