Dorset Police issue warning to parents about 'Huggy Wuggy' video game
Dorset Police say the character is sinister and deceiving and not suitable for young children
Dorset Police are warning parents about a new video game that contains content not suitable for young children.
Poppy Playtime features a character called Huggy Wuggy, but he's far from cute.
In a message to a local school Dorset Police say:
"The blue bear-like character has long arms and rows of razor sharp teeth. Set in an abandoned toy factory Huggy is a villain in the game who stalks the players from vents are unreachable places. Videos of the game are available to watch on YouTube, with other clips dedicated to Huggy in songs. One song includes the lyrics 'I could hug you here forever, till you breathe your last breath together."
Chris Conroy is the Cyber Protect Officer for Dorset Police.
He told Greatest Hits Radio Dorset:
"There are video's people have made, songs people have made, and it's popping up all over YouTube and Tik Tok using this quite graphic imagery of this bear-like character with razor sharp teeth. It's based around jump scares and things you certainly wouldn't want children exposed to."
The game is available on platforms such as YouTube and Roblox. Dorset Police say it contains disturbing content that is unfiltered due to there being no age rating.
Chris Conroy warns:
"So if you were to use even YouTube kids for example, it may slip through because there is nothing obviously sinister about the name of a video. It really comes down to paying attention of what your children are doing and making sure they are not just trusting YouTube Kids videos are safe because unfortunately with videos like this, things do slip through the cracks.
Dorset Police say some schools are seeing children recreate a game in the playground with hugging and whispering nasty things in the recipient's ear.
Chris Conroy says:
"There are steps parents can take on YouTube kids. You can remove the search function so children can only see approved content. You can see what they have been watching by clicking on their profile. And if there's anything in there you think is a cause for concern you can flag that to YouTube."