Fire risk heaters seized at Port of Felixstowe are destroyed

Nearly 300 faulty desktop heaters that posed a fire risk have been destroyed after they were seized at a coastal port.

The appliances were detained at the Port of Felixstowe by imports surveillance officers from Suffolk County Council.

During tests, an internal wire melted causing the heaters to short circuit, a spokesperson said.

All the heaters were destroyed on Monday.

Suffolk Trading Standards, a department of the council, said the 299 heaters were to be delivered to a warehouse in East Tilbury, Essex, and sold on Amazon.

The imports officers noticed the heaters "didn't look right" as they had no manufacturer names or regulatory compliance markings on them, the spokesperson said.

They were seized on 13 December and were tested on 18 December, whereby they failed to comply with electrical safety regulations.

Suffolk Trading Standards urged anyone with concerns about having bought a dangerous heater to stop using it immediately and contact it.

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