Leicester expert contributes to BBC Watchdog report on safety of fidget spinners

Professor Sarah Hainsworth (pictured), Head of the Department of Engineering, has contributed to a BBC Watchdog report investigating the safety of fidget spinners.

The spinners, which were originally designed to help children with conditions such as autism deal with stress, have become a playground craze, spreading globally in recent months.

An example of a fidget spinner

The items were put through testing by blades expert Professor Hainsworth. She tested the spinners by stabbing into a tomato, used as a substitute for an eye, and pork skin, used as a substitute for human skin.

All three spinners had the ability to puncture the tomato, and two out of three were able to puncture the pork skin.

• You can watch the full story, which features Professor Sarah Hainsworth, on BBC Watchdog here (starts 48:50)
• The Guardian feature
• The Sun feature