A CAMPAIGN has been launched to highlight the potential dangers posed by electrical items in the home.
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service has issued a warning after research found there could be thousands of items in the county, such as heaters, which pose a fire risk.
It has also been revealed that many people are happy to take the risk of keeping their electricals which may have been recalled because they are faulty rather than go through the process of sending the item back.
The Electrical Safety Council found that many people are ignoring product recalls, with only between 10 and 20 per cent of more than 200 recalls being complied with during the last six years.
In a bid to combat the problem the organisation has teamed up with the county’s fire service to launch an online tool to make it easy for people to check how safe their electrical items are.
Glynn Luzynj, head of risk reduction at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue, said: “Continuing to use an electrical product that has been recalled can be very dangerous, as electrical faults are a common cause of house fires in Staffordshire.
“If people own a recalled product they should return it to the retailer or manufacturer immediately.”
