Electric car owners are taking shocking risks to charge them due to a lack of public plugging-in points.
Three-quarters admit daisy-chaining multi-socket extension leads, which are not suitable for outdoor use.
They even hang lines out of house windows to reach their motors – and half say they leave their cars hooked up and charging when it is raining.
There are now nearly 190,000 electric cars on our roads, up 41% from 25,000 in 2014.
But there are only 6,669 charging points, which have slightly more than doubled in the period – and we are predicted to have as many as 12 million electric cars by 2025, then 21 million five years later, according to Deloitte.
As charging point provision fails to keep pace, charity Electrical Safety First warns owners are risking electric shock with improvised hook-ups.
Electrical Safety First technical director Martyn Allen said: “A modern Britain also needs to be a safe one.
“We are urging the Government and local authorities to ensure the infrastructure is in place to support the rapid increase in numbers of electric vehicles on our roads.
“Users should not give in to temptation to use standard domestic extension leads to charge their vehicles outside – and never daisy-chain them together.”
Mr Allen urged electric car owners to take advantage of a Government grant that will cover up to 75% of the cost of installing a proper home charging point.
The uptake of electric cars is driven by the Government’s decision to ban new petrol and diesel motors by 2040.
Cars and vans made before 2006 and diesels made before 2015 now also face a £12.50 charge to enter Central London and, outside the capital, 20 councils – including Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield – are planning similar moves.
Charge times for electric cars depend on the type of charging point used. Slow charging is the most common method, typically done overnight at home and taking six to 12 hours.
Fast chargers are found in supermarket car parks and shopping centres, and take one to two hours. Rapid charge points, as at motorway services, give a charge of up to 80% in 20 to 40 minutes.
Shell is introducing super-units that give an 80% charge in just 10 minutes.
In terms of range, most electric cars do 100 to 150 miles on a charge but this should hit 400 miles within 10 years.
