Jewellery advertised as sterling silver on Amazon, eBay, Temu, Etsy and OnBuy was found to contain toxic chemicals, following a BBC investigation.

Some 25 items were examined by experts for BBC Watchdog on The One Show. Laboratory analysis found eight contained illegal levels of cadmium - a chemical that can cause cancer. Only two items could be classified as sterling silver.

Amazon, eBay, Temu and OnBuy said misleading listings were prohibited and that it had removed the jewellery identified by Watchdog. Etsy did not respond.

Meranda, 34, bought a necklace advertised on Etsy as handmade sterling silver but says after a few days of wearing it her "neck started getting really irritated".

"I remember looking at it as I took it off and thinking the colour on this doesn't look right."

Meranda's necklace and the 25 other pieces purchased by Watchdog were analysed by the Sheffield Assay Office.

According to preliminary testing, Meranda's necklace was found to contain nickel - another toxic chemical that can cause skin irritation. There are strict legal limits on how much nickel jewellery can contain.