City of York Council's Trading Standards team is warning residents to check their electric blankets this winter, in a bid to cut down on potentially fatal house fires.

At the testing sessions held in September and December, 64 per cent of the blankets were faulty with potential safety hazards. Although some of the blankets only had minor defects that could be repaired, 256 of the 470 electric blankets tested failed the tests.

Figures suggest that old and damaged electric blankets are the cause of 5,000 fires nationally per year. Serious faults can develop when electric blankets are stored incorrectly and users fail to follow instructions, particularly in older blankets. Electric blankets over ten years old do not have the same safety features as those fitted to modern blankets.

Elizabeth Levett, trading standards manager, City of York Council, said: "It is frightening to think about how many potentially dangerous electric blankets are being used by York residents. This is the first year that York's trading standards team have carried out testing. I hope we can repeat the exercise next year and see a reduction in the failure rate.

"We would like to thank Age Concern York and the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service who helped provide a test venue and the transportation of the blankets. Although each test only takes six minutes, it can save lives".

Residents whose blankets were found unsafe were given coupons that can be redeemed against a new electric blanket at discounted price.