GARDAÍ ARE INVESTIGATING reports of needles and pins being pushed into Halloween sweets in Co Donegal.

Two separate Donegal parents have written about incidents in the Ballybofey-Stranorlar area on social media and have also spoken to local news outlet the Donegal Daily.

Savannah McDaid said on social media that her son was trick or treating in Stranorlar on Halloween night and remarked that it was a “fun time for us until we came home”.

Pin found in Halloween sweet Savannah McDaid / Facebook Savannah McDaid / Facebook / Facebook

She said her son received loads of sweets but noted that her mother informed her of “videos going around about checking your kids’ sweets”.

McDaid said she got a magnet and “started to check all of his sweets to only find something I never thought I would find”.

She said there were a “couple of sweets and bars that stuck to the magnet” and that when she opened them up, she found that a pin was hidden in the bars and sweets”.

“I never thought I would ever find something so dangerous in a sweet given to children,” she added.

Pin found in Halloween chocolate Pin found in Halloween sweet Pin found in Halloween sweet

“It’s terrible that kids can’t go out trick or treating and have fun and enjoy the excitement of getting to eat their sweets at home, it’s ruining the fun for the kids.

“I honestly don’t know what is going on in this world today. it’s a disgrace.”

McDaid told the Donegal Daily that “never in a million years did I think we would find something like this happening here”.

Meanwhile, Philippa Falls in nearby Ballybofey saw McDaid’s post and decided to check on her own son’s Halloween sweets as a result.

She said that her son found a pin inside one of the chocolates he had received.

Philippa Falls holding pin she found in her son's sweets

“I am horrified, gobsmacked and worried that someone could conceal something like this in a chocolate, which could potentially be fatal,” she added, before imploring other parents to check through all the sweets and chocolates their children received.

Speaking to the Donegal Daily, Falls said it was an “embroidery or sewing machine needle that was in the chocolate”.

Meanwhile, local Sinn Féin councillor Dakota Nic Mheanman remarked that it was “absolutely horrible to see this happening”.

“We shouldn’t have to be checking our kids’ sweets, but please be cautious,” she added.

Nic Mheanman also said it was “extremely worrying” for there to be two reports of this type of incident in the local area.

In a statement, a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said: “Gardaí received report of an incident which occurred on 31 October in the Ballybofey / Stranorlar area in Co Donegal.”

The spokesperson added that “enquiries are ongoing”.