AN ELECTRIC blanket which was still being used after 40 years has prompted a safety warning.
It was one of 85 which failed safety tests carried out by Warwickshire Trading Standards. In total 259 blankets belonging to older people living across the county were tested.
A trading standard spokesman said: “We know that faulty electric blankets are a contributory factor in many house fires each year.
“Electric blankets that are more than ten years old carry an increased fire risk because as they age, the unseen wiring within them will begin to deteriorate.
“Some that are very old, such as the 40 year-old blanket, may also lack overheat protection, built in to modern blankets to stop them from overheating if a fault occurs.
“Some had been the subject of a product recall by the manufacture that the owner was not aware of.”
The electric blanket testing campaign has now finished but owners can check the safety of their own electric blankets by looking for warning signs – including worn or frayed fabric, scorch marks, damaged or missing tie tapes, worn or damaged flexes, and loose connections.
And any blanket over ten years old should be replaced. An old BEAB safety mark – a round symbol – is an indication a blanket is more than a decade old.
Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/electricblanket for further details.
