'Tumble dryer' fire guts house in the Rhondda

The Drapers say the fire that destroyed part of their home was caused by a tumble dryer.

A family from Tylorstown in the Rhondda Valley say their daughter was 'seconds from death' - after a fire engulfed their home.

Katrina and Matthew Draper claim it was caused by a tumble dryer and say they've lost everything.

The bottom floor of the Draper family's house was left gutted when their tumble dryer caught fire, causing flames to sweep through the property.

Their daughter, 14-year-old Lucy, escaped just moments before the machine exploded. Her parents bought the appliance two years ago, and say they it was looked after properly.

The Draper's 14-year-old daughter Lucy (centre) narrowly escaped the fire.

Last year Hotpoint - who made the Drapers' machine - together with sister brands Indesit and Ceeda, put out a safety notice on 113 of its models though to have a fault which could pose a fire risk.

Parent company Whirlpool say they need affected customers to contact them so they can send an engineer to correct the fault - but in terms of individual cases, they're unable to comment

Richard Morgan reports: