Whitley Bay house fire prompts festive charger warning

The blaze in a bedroom was started by a charger

Firefighters have issued a timely warning about the dangers posed by electrical chargers.

A fire started at a house in Whitley Bay when a charger that had been left on a bed overheated, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said.

Anticipating electrical items will be given as Christmas presents, a brigade spokesman said people needed to take care.

The blaze was extinguished before it spread beyond the bedroom.

A brigade spokeswoman said chargers for a phone, electric toothbrush and a power bank or laptop were all plugged into an extension block left on the bed, one of which overheated and ignited.

Karen Soady, the fire service's prevention and education manager, said: "Christmas is an exciting time and we often gift each other with electrical items.

"However, you need to take care when plugging them in and testing them out this Christmas.

"We all can become overwhelmed around this time of the year - not least the electrical sockets in our homes."

Advice issued by the brigade includes:

• Anything with a heating element such as heaters or electric blankets should be plugged into a wall and not an extension

• Cheaper alternatives to chargers should be avoided as they are not subject to the same stringent fire safety tests as legitimate products

• Turn chargers off at the wall when they are not being used using it

• Ensure smoke alarms are working and if they are not, contact the fire service to have new ones fitted