Real estate broker Jessica Johnson was cleared out over the course of a month by her young son when he went on a spending spree in the Sonic Forces mobile game.

Her final bill was $16,293.10, which she is now fighting to have refunded by Apple, who have allegedly told her that she has waited too long to complain.

Ms Johnson told the New York Post: “It’s like my six-year-old was doing lines of cocaine and doing bigger and bigger hits.”

She added: “My son didn’t understand that the money was real. How could he? He’s playing a cartoon game in a world that he knows is not real. Why would the money be real to him?”