FIREFIGHTERS are warning people about counterfeit products after a house fire in South Tyneside.
Officers were called to a house in Bamburgh Grove, Horsley Hill, South Shields, at 10.25pm on Tuesday.
A woman had been talking on her mobile phone, which was charging at the time, when the charger exploded at the socket and started a blaze.
She was not hurt and the fire was quickly put out.
But now firefighters are warning of the dangers of using products that have not been properly tested.
Watch manager James Ferguson said: “The woman said the charger she was using was a counterfeit product.
“This can be very dangerous because these fraudulent products do not always go through the stringent safety tests that the real ones do.
“If someone does think they’ve got a counterfeit product, they should speak to trading standards team at South Tyneside Council about it to ask for advice.”