One third of electric blankets tested unsafe

Its a little bit worrying isn't it?

A SAFETY initiative has found that one third of electric blankets tested in Darlington were unsafe to use.

Age UK Darlington teamed up with the council’s trading standards team to hold a two-day testing event at the charity’s Bradbury House base on Beaumont Street.


More than 90 electric blankets were tested and 30 were deemed unsafe – a failure rate of 33 per cent.
The faulty blankets were taken out of circulation and their owners offered a free replacement blanket.
The figures compare well with last year’s when, out of 80 blankets tested, 34 failed - a failure rate of 43 per cent.

Councillor Chris McEwan, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for economy and regeneration, said: “Despite testing being run for several years now we still find a large number of blankets failing each year.

“This free testing is invaluable and saves lives as many people do not consider the potential dangers of using an electric blanket, especially an old or damaged one.”

Electrical related fires account for almost half of the accidental domestic fires in the UK.
Since 2003, a total of 1,398 electric blankets have been tested as part of the Darlington campaign with 546 unsafe blankets in use by residents found to be unsafe and removed from circulation.
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Officers from County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service also support the campaign and are onhand to offer free fire safety advice to residents who take their blankets for testing.

Get your checked