Faulty tumble dryers cause three fires each day

Faulty tumble dryers cause three house fires each day, fire chiefs have warned.

They have called for an urgent recall of "dangerous" malfunctioning models as they warned that millions of households were unwittingly left to play "Russian roulette" with their safety.

The warning comes after the manufacturer of Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda branded dryers admitted to a widespread safety defect last October. The fault can lead to fluff inside the machine catching fire.

Parent company Whirlpool is now repairing dryers across the UK, but fire chiefs have said the faulty devices should be recalled immediately to prevent the potentially life-threatening fires.

Official data showed there were were 2,190 tumble dryer fires between 2012 and 2014, according to the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 48 fire and rescue authorities in England and Wales.

Jeremy Hilton, chairman of the LGA's fire services management, warned that people using faulty dryers were "unwittingly playing Russian roulette".

The LGA also called for all white goods to have fireproof markings on them which allow identification of the manufacturer, model and serial number.