Rhyl house 'destroyed' in faulty washing machine fire

A power surge in a washing machine was said to have caused damage to Elwyn Roberts' mother's house in Rhyl

Nearly 150 fires in Welsh homes started last year because of faulty electrical appliances, a charity has said.

It comes after Elwyn Roberts from Rhyl, Denbighshire, said his mother's home was destroyed by a fire caused by a power surge in a washing machine.

Nobody was hurt in the fire, which happened in February, but Mr Roberts said some of the items lost were "virtually irreplaceable".

Electrical Safety First urged people to register their electrical products.

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Mr Roberts said his 71-year-old mother was "practically homeless" while repairs to the house are made, with her mostly staying with neighbours or at his flat.

He said: "The fire left very little behind and with it destroyed items that hold very precious memories to my mother and our family. They are irreplaceable.

"I can't bear to see the devastation caused by this fire continue to hurt my mum.

"The blaze spread into the middle room and decimated it, destroying her new computer, burning away a hole in the ceiling and melted the double glazed window."

Tumble dryers and washing machines cause are the number one and two causes of electrical fires in Wales

He added: "The heart-breaking ashen devastation left in the wake of this tragedy has hurt my mum the most because so many treasured family possessions, including the beautiful silver line pram myself and my little sister had used when we children, were completely destroyed.

"My mum managed to get out of the house with the two cats, thankfully nobody was physically hurt but the memories destroyed by this fire are irreplaceable."

Not registered

Electrical Safety First encouraged people to register their products with manufacturers to avoid such fires.

It said 36% of the 250 people surveyed in Wales did not register their products, meaning they would not be notified if there was a fault with their item.

In Wales, 143 fires were caused by faulty electrical appliances last year - the equivalent of nearly three a week.

In England, there were 2,330 fires. The figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland were not given to Electrical Safety First.

Tumble dryers caused the most fires out of all appliances, followed by washing machines and electric cookers.

Co-op Insurance said one in five fires were caused by electrical faults.