Needles and other sharp metal objects have been found in sweets handed out over Halloween in Germany, Austria and Hungary, prompting police to issue warnings to parents to check what their children have been given.

Police in a number of German states have reported cases, from Bavaria in the south-east to Lower Saxony in the north.

A girl aged nine hurt her tongue while eating a chocolate bar in Bremervörde, west of Hamburg. A 5cm-long (2in) pin was then found inside it.

Meanwhile, police in Hungary have launched a criminal investigation after nails, screws and pieces of wire were found in sweets handed out to children who had been trick-or-treating in and around the town of Gyömrő, to the east of Budapest.

The local authority said one young girl had been handed a toffee with a nail inside a chocolate wrapper and that she had fortunately noticed in time and had not swallowed the sweet.

Several cases have also been reported across Austria, where Interior Minister Gerhard Karner condemned the incidents as “cowardly, malicious and in some cases life-threatening”.