A trader who sold a powerful laser pointer at a school fair has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service after a pointer damaged a child's eye.

Lynsey McClure, 47, of Surrey, pleaded guilty at St Albans Magistrates Court on Wednesday July 13 to nine charges relating to the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations.

McClure had a stall at a school fair in Aldenham, in December 2015, at which a parent from Bushey Heath bought her child one of the pointers thinking they were low powered toys.

Two days later the child complained about problems with his vision and was taken to hospital.

After a complaint was made to Hertfordshire County Council’s trading standards service the laser pointer was tested and found to be far more powerful than described on the packaging.

It was described as being below 1mW (milliwatt) but when tested the power peaked at 128mW.

A power rating of this scale puts the pointer in Class 3B of laser products. The Health Protection Agency advises that such products should not sold to the general public.

Any radiant power above 20mW has the potential to cause eye damage in less the 9.25 seconds.

During her interview, McClure said that she had asked her supplier to ensure that the products were UK compliant and claimed that she had taken every precaution that she could as an importer.

The court she was very sorry and she had immediately stopped selling the product when she was notified and that she had fully cooperated with Hertfordshire County Council’s trading standards service.

Richard Thake, in charge of community safety at Hertfordshire County Council, said: “There is good reason why the scale of laser pens is tightly regulated and that is to ensure the safety of the public.

“This case involved damage to the eye of a seven year old boy causing great distress and anxiety for the family involved.

“Businesses importing cheap goods into the UK to sell on at a profit must realise that it is their responsibility to ensure that those items are safe and as described.

“It is not good enough to rely upon checks or reports that appear to have been carried out abroad as there is no way to verify their authenticity.”