Ikea issue safety alert after two children killed by falling drawers

A safety alert has been issued about Ikea's drawers and wardrobes after two children were killed when they fell on to them.

A two-year-old boy from Pennsylvania died in February 2014 when a Malm chest fell on him and pinned him to a bed.

Three months later, a 23-month-old child from Washington was killed in when a three-drawer Malm chest tipped over.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has warned people to stop using Ikea's wardrobes and chests of drawers for children unless they are securely attached to the wall.

Ikea North America is now offering free wall-anchoring kits after the safety alert, the commission said in a statement.

The firm's UK and Ireland branch told ITV News that they have launched a safety awareness campaign following the issues in the US and that the best way to prevent accidents is to secure the furniture to the wall.

The CPSC said there had been 14 reports of "tipover accidents" involving the Malm chests, resulting in four serious injuries.

It also said that Ikea is aware of three other reports of deaths since 1989 from similar accidents involving other models of Ikea chests and dressers.

"CPSC and IKEA are urging consumers to inspect their Ikea chests and dressers to ensure that they are securely anchored to the wall," a statement said.

"Consumers should move unanchored chests and dressers into storage or other areas where they cannot be accessed by children until the chests and dressers are properly anchored to the wall."

In a statement, Ikea UK and Ireland said: