A mother got the shock of her life on Boxing Day after adult strangers started talking to her son on a Spider-Man walkie-talkie he had received for Christmas.
Three-year-old Rafe and his younger brother Lockie were thrilled when their grandmother each gave them a Marvel-themed radio.
Already big fans of the webslinger, the pair were eager to try out their new gadgets as soon as possible.
After turning them on on Boxing Day, the pair split up into different rooms to test out their new walkie-talkies.
But instead of hearing his younger brother’s voice, Rafe was greeted by that of a complete stranger.
When their mother Rachael Raymond first heard the mysterious voice, she thought it was just someone on TV.
After checking on Rafe next door, she quickly realized that he was in fact speaking to an unknown person on the other end of the line and immediately tried to find out who they were.
Rachael admitted the conversation was short-lived because she didn’t leave Rafe unattended for long, but said it’s “disheartening” to think of the “potential dangers” to older children who may be left alone.
Three-year-old Rafe and his younger brother Lockie pose with their Spider-Man themed walkie-talkies, a gift from their grandmother
But the walkie-talkies (pictured) proved a little too powerful for the couple, as they were able to use the walkie-talkies to talk to two complete strangers
The mother-of-two said: “They obviously loved them and we turned them on and they were just toddling around the house.
‘A while later I heard someone’s voice on the receiver.
‘They had only just started working on it, so it could only have been a matter of minutes, but within that short period of time he picked up the signal very quickly.
‘So I went next door and said to my son Rafe, “Oh, who is that?” And he said, ‘It’s a lady’
‘At first I thought it came from the television or from another house. So I grabbed the walkie-talkie from him, pressed the button and said, “Hello. Who is this? About.
‘And then a lady’s voice on the other end of the line says, “Who is this? Over.”
“Then she disappeared and there was this kind of crackling, and then there was also a male voice with this kind of crackling and interference.
‘At that point it became clear that the device was picking up other transmitters or other walkie-talkies, perhaps nearby.
“So I said, ‘This is my son’s Spider Man. Walkie talkie over”. And then we heard a lady just laughing and someone trying to say something, and then it all just went dead.”
The two brothers, who are big fans of the web-slinging superhero, are pictured using their walkie-talkies on their Spider-Man themed bikes
“Obviously this signal wasn’t strong enough to have a back and forth conversation, but there are clearly conversations going on from the other side to find out who was on my son’s side.”
We’ve taken them down now while we figure out what’s going on with them.
‘It’s quite a funny story, but also typical of my three-year-old Rafe, because we always say he looks like Kevin McAllister. Honestly, you know, he’ll figure out all the electronics.
“So it was just a lot of fun. It would have been him who had somehow managed to tap into some sort of radio frequency in this £14.99 Amazon Spider Man walkie-talkie.
“But heaven knows who else he’s had a chat with, but hopefully nothing too sinister.”
‘Because they’re young, it’s not like they would ever be unsupervised, but if it was given to, say, an older child, who might be in their room, then obviously that leaves a bit of a bad impression. taste in your mouth.
“They could be on the phone with anyone who picks up that signal.
“So yeah, it’s definitely funny. We laughed for a bit, but it’s a little scary to think about the other side and the potential dangers.”
Bought for £15 on Amazon, the walkie-talkies are designed for children aged 3 to 12
The walkie-talkies say they are designed for children between the ages of three and 12, meaning Rafe is old enough to use them.
It also has a range of just over 300 meters, making it all the more confusing who could have heard Rachael’s voices.
‘We are currently at my parents’ address and there are other houses nearby.
“So my first thoughts are that other kids got walkie-talkies for their Christmas gifts and we’re on the same page or something.
“Rafe just said it was a lady. As far as he was concerned, it didn’t really matter. It was just someone on the end of his walkie-talkie.
“He’s three, so he’s kind of in that phase where they just take the reality that’s given to them.
‘We’ll check the reviews because it’ll be quite funny to know if it’s happened before,
“But from our perspective, we better make sure they don’t walk around with it alone.”
The devices also have a range of just over 1,000 feet, making it all the more confusing as to who could have heard Rachael’s voices.
Rachael admitted that the kids are a little annoyed that they haven’t been able to play on their walkie-talkies since the strange encounter, but said she plans to turn them back on later when they are supervised.
‘We’ll probably put it back on and I think the adults will have a bit of a laugh about it later when the kids are in bed.
“We’ll probably put them on and see if we can figure out who it was at the end of the line, and if they’re still there
“And I think we’ll probably send a message to the Amazon seller to say, ‘Oh, you know?’ Clearly for £14.99 they are quite powerful.
“So it would be interesting to hear what their feedback is.”