Rest assured with free safety testing for electric blankets in Buckingham

Buckingham residents can sleep more easily, after getting their electric blankets safety tested by Trading Standards next week. Any that are found to be unsafe will be replaced free of charge.

Bucks and Surrey Trading Standards Service, with funding from the charity Electrical Safety First, will be safety testing electric blankets at Buckingham Library between 10am and 3pm on Wednesday, March 1.

Members of the public are invited to bring their electric blankets for inspection, with any found to be unsafe replaced free of charge.

Testing is also being carried out at two venues in Surrey, and the well-known bed retailer Dreams has donated 150 electric blankets to replace any unsafe models belonging to the public.

This initiative comes as homeowners are increasingly relying on electric blankets to mitigate the impact of increasing heating costs.

In a recent investigation, consumer champion group Which? tested electric blankets bought from online marketplaces and found 80 per cent can't be legally sold in the UK while 70 per cent were poorly made and 27 per cent posed electric shock risk.

Dreams spokesman Alex Woods said: "Safety is so important, and that’s why we are supporting Electrical Safety First to ensure that households relying on electric blankets this winter can do so with peace of mind.

"We’re grateful to Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards Service for facilitating this initiative and providing us with an opportunity to support our customers and their communities.”