Mum issues urgent warning over 'cheap' iPhone chargers

A mum has counted herself 'lucky' after discovering that her cheap iPhone charger was starting to burn while it was connected to the wall.

Next to a photo of a white phone cable with obvious burn marks at the part that attaches to a phone, she wrote: "So this happened in our house last night, the house is still stinking of burning plastic."

Nikki, from Kirkcaldy, Scotland, continued: "A cheap iPhone charger that I left plugged in without a phone on the kitchen worktop. I couldn’t understand where the smell was coming from. This same charger has sat plugged in lying on the kids beds at some point."

As to where she got it from, Nikki simply said 'online somewhere'.

They penned: "Be very careful of cheap chargers and cables. Not worth losing your lives over a few quid. I always switch off the socket switch when I unplug the phone or device."

Elsewhere, someone else suggested that it's not about having a cheap cable but about leaving your charger plugged in while it's not connected to a device.

"It's not just cheap ones," their comment began.

"This can happen to any charger left plugged in and switched on at the socket but not connected to a device. Might be a good idea to arrange a home fire safety visit from the Fire Service, they can give you some excellent advice. Glad you're all ok."

In a viral video shared last year, a firefighter explained why.

"We get a lot of questions here at Kent Fire & Rescue about why you shouldn't charge phones overnight," he said to the camera.

"So here are the reasons why.

"Number one: you can't smell anything when you're asleep, so if it starts to burn, the fire won't wake you up.

Number two: it only takes three breaths of smoke to knock you unconscious.

"Number three: lots of people have cheap or faulty phone chargers, but even genuine ones have been known to start fires.

"If you're able to, we advise you to charge your phone when you're there and awake.

"From a fire service point of view, it's much safer."