Health chiefs beg Brits not to eat £1 ‘Cali-Gold’ chocolate bars after several people – including five children – fall ill from buying them at a Christmas market

Health chiefs today urged Brits not to eat a chocolate bar after a swathe of people who bought fell ill.

Cali Gold 70 per cent dark chocolate bars, wrapped in gold foil and inside an orange box, were sold at a Christmas market in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire on Saturday.

Police yesterday confirmed a man had been arrested after at least five children and several adults began feeling unwell after eating the snack and were taken to hospital.

Reports circulated online that the bars — which were being sold as five for £1 — were laced with opioids but officers said there is ‘no evidence to support these rumours’.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued a ‘do not eat’ warning, advising anyone who has bought it to throw it in the bin and ‘urgently’ seek medical attention if they have already eaten the chocolate bar and feel unwell.

Nottinghamshire police said anyone who had bought any of the chocolate (pictured) or who recognised the packaging should not eat it but call police straight away

The bars were being sold as ‘five for a £1 mystery chocolate bars’ at a market in the town centre on Saturday. Pictured, stock image of Mansfield Market Place 

Tina Potter, head of incidents at the FSA, said: ‘We are working with local authorities, the UK Health Security Agency and Nottinghamshire Police to investigate an incident following reports of illness after eating Cali-Gold chocolate.

‘If you have purchased “Cali-Gold” chocolate from Mansfield Market in Nottinghamshire you should not consume the product and dispose of it at home. 

‘If you have already eaten it and developed symptoms, then you should urgently seek medical attention.’

The police have arrested one person in connection with the incident. 

The bars were being sold as ‘five for a £1 mystery chocolate bars’ at a market in the town centre on Saturday, ahead of the Christmas light switch on the following day.

One man said his nephew had been rushed to A&E after eating one of the bars after he was left feeling ‘spaced out’. 

Others said their children started to feel unwell within 20 minutes of eating the chocolate.

Nottinghamshire Police said anyone who had bought any of the chocolate or who recognised the packaging should not eat it but call police straight away. 

It said anyone who had already eaten it and was feeling unwell should seek medical help.

Police said investigations were ongoing but that there was ‘no evidence’ to suggest they had been laced with opioids.

Detective Inspector Luke Todd, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘We are aware of reports circulating online of people unknowingly purchasing chocolate laced with drugs from the Mansfield area over the weekend.

‘At this stage, there is no evidence to support these rumours.

‘An investigation is currently ongoing to establish the circumstances behind people feeling unwell after consuming this chocolate.’