Balmoral Show: Fidget spinners craze gripping young and old

If you haven’t seen one before, it is a flat palm-sized toy with three prongs which can be flicked and spun around between your fingers.

One of those traders trying to keep up with demand for the toy at Balmoral Show is Seamus McAreavey from Banbridge.

He said: “They’re the biggest line in the world at the minute. There’s millions sold every day.

“Boys are buying them, girls are buying them, all ages are buying them.

“They’re not just for children to play with. People are buying them who have rheumatoid arthritis as it relieves the pain.”

He added: “It gives your hands something to do – it’s better than Facebook.”

Mr McAreavey, who travels to shows all over Ireland selling his wares, continued: “I just saw them on the internet, we saw them a month ago in China when the craze was starting. There’s millions coming into the UK every day. Shops are struggling to meet the demand.

“Most shops do them from a tenner upwards, but at a show like this we have to do them cheaper than that.

“They’re just a simple toy and like most successful toys, simplicity is best.”

As reported by the Guardian last week the inventor of the original fidget spinner – Catherine Hettinger from Florida – is not making a penny off her invention as global sales of the gadget soar into the tens of millions.

Hettinger held the patent on finger spinners for eight years, but surrendered it in 2005 because she could not afford the $400 (£310) renewal fee.