Overheated phone charger sparks safety warning

A WARNING has been made about leaving phone chargers switched on after a woman from Burra discovered her son’s adaptor had started to melt after not being turned off.

Audrey Smith said she was worried the consequences would have been much worse if she hadn’t come across the charger when she did on Thursday.

Her son had charged up his phone overnight – but he later complained that it wasn’t properly charged, causing concerns over whether the charger was broken.

She later happened to go into his room to draw his curtains and came across an unusual smell that wasn’t too dissimilar to burning.

“I went in his room to draw his curtains, which I sometimes do,” Audrey said.

“I was aware of an odd kind of smell. I always check that his charger is unplugged, because he usually leaves it plugged in.

“It was in a three plug extension lead, and when I hauled it out, I realised it was brally hot. When I looked at it, I could see the top was melted. It was that hot, you couldn’t lay it along your skin.”

Audrey posted images of the charger – thought to be a Sony one – on Facebook to spread awareness of the issue, with her post getting a number of shares.

“I just wanted folk to be aware of how easily it can happen, and that it does happen,” she said.

Audrey said she isn’t sure if the charger would have gone on fire but she is thankful it was found when it was.

“I don’t know what would have happened, if it would have burst into flames eventually,” she said.

“We’re joined onto another house, so it wouldn’t have just been our house – it would have been the house next door, our shed. It doesn’t bear thinking about really.”