Toddler ill after eating Bindeez toys
Bindeez banned in NSW and SA
Beads can turn into GHB if swallowed

A 19-month-old boy was in a Queensland hospital after ingesting a toy that was today banned interstate.

Bindeez have been found to contain a chemical that converts into the toxic illegal drug GHB, also known as fantasy, when ingested.

The toy has been banned across the country today.

A Queensland ambulance spokesman said the boy was taken to St Vincent's Hospital at Toowoomba this morning after falling ill, and would be transported to the Mater hospital this afternoon.

The boy's grandfather told ABC Radio in Sydney his grandson fell unconscious after swallowing some of the beads.

"We've just heard from my daughter in Toowoomba that her two-year-old son has just swallowed some of those beads - just recently, I don't know whether it was today or yesterday,'' said the man, identified only as Nick.

He said his grandson was being taken to Brisbane for treatment.

"Apparently he's unconscious,'' he said.

Banned interstate

Chinese-made Bindeez, which won the 2007 Australian Toy of the Year award at the Melbourne Toy and Hobby fair, contains hundreds of beads which can induce seizures, drowsiness or a coma if eaten.

Two children in New South Wales, a two-year-old boy and a ten-year-old girl, have been admitted to hospital in the past ten days after eating the beads leading the toy's banning in that state.

Today the toy was also banned in South Australia.