A COUPLE have spoken of their terror after they had to flee their home when their tumble dryer burst into flames.

Christine and George Buckle, of Little Wakering Road, Barling, said they were lucky to be alive after their fire alarmwoke them up in the early hours of the morning.

The couple had to flee their home after their Whirlpool tumble drier, which wasn’t being used at the time, suddenly caught fire.

Mrs Buckle recalled her terror as she woke up to a pitchblack room filled with smoke – with her husband shouting for her to wake up after he was woken up by one of the alarms at the bungalow.

Describing their terror, Mrs Buckle said fire engines rushed to the scene only minutes after they fled the property, leaving behind them a burning kitchen and the rest of the house filled with smoke.

Five minutes later, she said, and they would have died.

She said: “It’s been awful.

We are still in a state of shock.

“If my husband hadn’t heard that smoke alarm, we both would have died.

“It was amazing – we are both so lucky to be alive. Five minutes more and we wouldn’t have made it. The last time I used my tumble dryer was three days before the fire – it wasn’t even on!”

The news follows reports that a number of Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda tumble dryer owners have been warned their appliances may pose a fire risk.

The couple say they want to warn others about the dangers that could be posed by the tumble dryer and how a smoke alarm can save peoples’ lives.

Mrs Buckle said: “If we could only get over to people how much places need a smoke alarm. I do want to warn people about the dangers – because I didn’t even hear the alarm, my husband did. It saved our lives.”

The pair were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation, after the blaze on Novermber 13, but were otherwise unhurt. They are staying with friends and say they had been overwhelmed by the “absolutely amazing” support from neighbours and family.

Mrs Buckle, 75, said she was grateful their insurance would cover temporary accommodation, as it will be 10 to 12 weeks before the couple can move back in.

To find out about smoke alarms, visit www.essexf i re.gov.uk/news/Smoke_ Alarms_Campaign/ Appliance fire risk warning:

Appliance fire risk warning

A NUMBER of Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda tumble dryer owners have been warned their appliances may pose a fire risk.

Two types of tumble dryers, condenser and vented dryers, manufactured by Indesit, were sold under the three brands in the UK and other countries over the past 11 years.

The firm is in the process of contacting affected consumers, who were warned not to leave their appliances unattended and to clean fluff from the filter after each use.

In “rare” cases a build-up of lint can come into contact with the dryer’s heating element, which could pose a fire risk, the manufacturer explained.

Customers can check online if their appliance is among those affected by keying in the model and serial number on the Indesit website.

A safety warning on the Indesit and Hotpoint websites said: “In some rare cases, excess fluff can come into contact with the heating element and present a risk of fire.”

An Indesit spokesman told ITV: “We estimate a significant number of units will be affected, but at this stage, we cannot speculate regarding the specific figure. These products were marketed in the UK and a number of other countries over the past 11 years, so we would expect a fairly large number of them to be affected.”

The warning came after an investigation by Whirlpool into dryers sold by Hotpoint and Indesit between April 2004 and September 2015. The US appliance giant acquired the Italian firm last year.