Gateshead mum's warning after daughter's toy mirror caused fire

A mum has told of her family's "lucky escape" after their home was almost set on fire because of a toy.

Dannielle, from Gateshead, was getting her children ready when she was confronted by smoke coming from her living room.

The fire was caused by sunlight shining onto her daughter's toy mirror, concentrating the heat on to a window frame which caused the PVC to burn.

People are being warned not to leave reflective items in direct sunlight.

"If I had been out all day who knows what could have happened," said the mother of two, from Sunniside.

"It smelt very electrical and the smoke was very hazy, like when you put out a candle. It had burned a black hole into the window frame.

"That living room gets so much light, it can get really hot - I even have to put blankets on the sofas in the summer."

The fire happened on 21 August, while Danielle was getting her four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son ready for their childminder.

Her daughter India wanted a toy from the living room but when Dannielle opened the door she was confronted by smoke.

Firefighters were initially puzzled as to how the fire had started.

When Dannielle went back inside she saw the window frame was melting and smouldering, and quickly removed the toy before telling crews what had happened.

"You wouldn't think that a child's toy could put your family at risk," added the construction company learning and development manager.

"It was a lucky escape for us but someone else may not be so lucky, so please be careful."

Jon Anderson, station manager for Swalwell Community Fire Station, said while such fires do not happen often, they can be "devastating".

"We've had an unusually cold and wet summer so often we don't think about the sun causing fires in this way," he said.

"But the mirror will magnify the sun rays and bounce them back into your home, we've seen fire start from bathroom mirrors left on the window sill."

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].