Hundreds of unsafe electric blankets found during Cumbrian safety checks (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Hundreds of unsafe electric blankets found during Cumbrian safety checks

11:56am Tuesday 9th October 2012 in News

NEARLY 400 unsafe electric blankets have been removed from circulation in Cumbria by trading standards chiefs.

Tests on 761 items during ten days of safety events across the county found more than half - 386 - had defects including poor wiring, lack of protection from over-heating and wear and tear from old age.

Cumbria County Council replaced these with one new blanket per household.

Angela Jones, the council’s trading standards service manager, said: “Our advice is to always buy blankets new, not second hand, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. We are concerned at the continual high failure rate and we will continue to raise awareness of the dangers of old and worn blankets.”

People are advised to replace blankets that are more than 10 years old.

For more information, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 08454-04-05-06.