A four-month-old baby had to have an operation to remove an earring from her stomach after she ripped it from her nan’s ear and swallowed it.

The infant was playing with her grandmother at the family home in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, eastern China, when the mishap occurred.

The tot grabbed her grandma’s earring, but by the time her nan could retrieve it, the playful baby had already put it in her mouth and swallowed it.

She was taken to hospital, where a scan revealed that the earring had made its way down to the tot’s stomach and risked perforating her intestine.

She was given an endoscopic procedure, during which surgeons were able to successfully remove the sharp item from the infant’s body.

She was later discharged safe and sound.

The incident was reported in local media on 23rd June.