Third of stair gates designed to keep toddlers safe failed crucial tests, warns Which?
A THIRD of stair gates designed to keep toddlers safe failed crucial tests, a consumer watchdog says.
Which? tested 11 types of gate to EU standards, with four failing.
Problems included gaps which could strangle a tot and gates that dislodge or don’t close properly. One failed multiple tests.
Natalie Hitchins, of Which?, said: “It beggars belief these products made to keep children safe may actually be putting them in harm’s way.
Child safety gates fail tests by Which?
Parents are being warned to stop using a number of child stair gates currently sold by major retailers in the UK after four models failed EU standard safety tests in Which? testing.
Here are the ones the consumer group has found problems with:
- Summer Infant Retractable
- Fred Safety Screw Fit
- Hauck Autoclose n' Stop
- BabyDan Avantgarde
“Manufacturers need to act urgently and retailers should take any potentially dangerous items off sale immediately.”
Which? found that the Summer Infant Retractable Safety Gate could not maintain its height when a weight was placed on it, it had gaps that a child could squeeze a leg through, as well as snagging protrusions.
The watchdog also found that its sample of the Fred Safety Screw Fit Wooden Gate had a gap at the bottom that was large enough for a tot to get trapped.
The BabyDan Avantgarde failed the impact test. When fitted using its extensions, it moved from its initial position by more than 25mm - the maximum amount permitted - meaning that the stairgate could come loose or slip out of the doorway.
The fourth gate to fail Which?’s safety testing was the Hauck Autoclose n’ Stop. During testing the auto-close system the bottom latch failed to fully click in.
Parents who already own any of the stair gates that failed Which? testing should stop using them immediately.
After Which? shared its findings with the manufacturers involved, Fred Safety withdrew the Screw Fit Wooden Gate from sale.
It is revising its design now to see how it can be improved in the future.
Hauck UK told The Sun it "does not accept the findings" of Which?'s investigation and asked for a copy of Which?'s test report and methodology of testing, which a spokesman claimed Hauck UK did not receive.
It added: "We have provided Which? with a Test Certificate and Test Report from independent test house TUV, which was issued in November 2019, where it can be shown that the product passes the required standard when fitted correctly.
"After our own internal investigation on safety barriers from the same batch we cannot find that the safety barrier would be unsafe if used and fitted according to the instructions. "To get the best result installing a safety barrier some preciseness and fine-tuning is needed. A final function check is essential."
Summer Infant said it had never received an incident report of the Summer Infant Retractable Gate.
A spokeswoman added: "While in production, the gate was periodically submitted to a third party laboratory to confirm compliance with applicable safety standards, including BS EN 1930:2011.
"The company decided to stop producing this item in 2019, and we have no plans to make more."
A spokesman for BabyDan said its gate had been tested by inspection companies TÜV Süd in Germany and Bureau Veritas in Britain "numerous times" without any issues.
He added: "Both of these two test laboratories have great experience with testing safety gates, and the safety gate has always passed the European standard for safety barriers.
"Baby Dan immediately sent the safety gate in question (without extensions and with 2 extensions) for new testing - this time SGS – and we have just received confirmation that the safety gate complies to the European Standard."
It's not the first time Which? has uncovered an issue with the safety of child gates.
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Last year, the consumer company found eight out of 12 stair gates tested by them failed safety checks, meaning toddlers could easily knock the gates out of place.
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