A woman in Coventry was watching television with an electric blanket on her knee. She was shocked when it started to smoke and catch fire. This then proceeded to burn her dressing gown (shown by image on the right). Lesley Redgrift, 65, noticed smoke arising from the blanket and when she lifted it up, she saw that it was on fire.
Her daughter, Tina, had bought the electric blank on eBay for her birthday to help keep her warm without having to switch the central heating on. She said: “Her husband had gone to bed because he works early in the morning, and my mum was sitting and watching television 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.”
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. Lesley was told to choose a dressing gown from their website for the company to send to her at no cost.
