A mother whose son nearly died after eating a chocolate car has seen the company that supplied it fined more than £5,000.

Julia Elliot from Penarth, near Cardiff, contacted trading standards officers after her three-year-old son suffered a violent allergic reaction.

He had eaten chocolate which the company claimed was nut-free.

James's mother decided to treat her son - allergic to both dairy products and nuts - after seeing an advertisement for dairy-free chocolate.

But in December 1998, after eating a bar from D&D chocolate in Loughborough, who had assured her it was nut-free, James suffered a violent allergic reaction.

Chocolate analysis

When the chocolate from the batch was sent for analysis, nut pieces were actually visible.

Now the company's two partners have been fined almost £5,500 including costs.

One in every 200 people now suffer from some form of nut allergy and James's family say they hope the judgement will cause other food suppliers to tighten up their procedures.