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Warning over spring-loaded umbrellas

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New spring-loaded umbrellas - which expand and collapse with a push of a button - may cause injuries, the Consumer Council warned yesterday.

The council said trying to push the handle into place could cause injuries after recent reports that handles have sprung back and hit people.

In Japan, a number of people, including primary schoolchildren, have reportedly been hit in the eyes, nose, teeth and forehead, said Ambrose Ho, the chairman of the council's publicity and community relations committee.

Last year a woman complained to the council after a rebounding handle hit her on the chin, Mr Ho said.

He said people should use both hands to make sure the handle is snapped into place.

'That act itself requires a bit of force. And consumers, when they use the umbrella, should make sure that the catch, when they [push] the handle back into the umbrella, is sufficiently secured,' he said.

Before buying an umbrella, test it, he added.

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