A woman watching television with an electric blanket on her knee was shocked when she saw it start to smoke and catch fire, burning her dressing gown. Lesley Redgrift, 65, noticed smoke rising from the blanket and when she lifted it up, she saw that it was on fire.
Lesley's daughter, Tina, had bought her the electric blanket on eBay for her birthday to help her keep warm without having to switch on her central heating. She told Grimsby Live: "Her husband had gone to bed because he works early in the morning, and my mum was sitting and watching telly with it on her knee.
"She said she saw some smoke rising, and when she lifted the blanket up she realised it was actually on fire. She had a thick dressing gown on and it burned the pocket of her dressing gown. It didn't even shut off. She quickly unplugged it, ran outside and chucked it on the ground and just stamped on it."
The electric blanket following the incident on Wednesday, January 18 (Image: Submitted)
"She was absolutely shaken up, she wouldn't buy one again. She's now very cautious of her other electric blanket which she has on her bed, but she's had that a few years. My dad has one of those blankets but it's a different one, a really expensive one, but he now switches it off when he goes outside for a cigarette because you just don't know.
"It was only a couple of nights before that I had slept over at my parents house and I had the new electric blanket on me while I was asleep. It's scary.
"I felt guilty because I'd bought her that for her birthday - I nearly set her on fire for her birthday. But she said not to worry, that she's got plenty of lives left. She said, 'It'll take more than that to kill me off'."
Tina said she contacted the Online Home Shop and was sent an immediate refund. The product has also been removed from their listings on eBay, and Lesley was told to choose a dressing gown from their website for the company to send her at no cost.
Tina said: "[My mum] was out that door like a shot, but someone less able? That reflects on why they've taken it off sale. They have done the right thing. But you think, if you're buying from overseas, you'd be a bit more dubious, but you'd think with them being a UK seller, they'd be a bit safer.
"It's frightening. I dread to think if that was an elderly lady or someone in the wheelchair - they'd have no chance. My mum is going back to using her hot water bottle now."
Tina said she has also reported the incident to Trading Standards. The Online Home Shop has been contacted for comment.
