A mum has issued a warning to E-cigarette users after her husband's vaping device 'exploded' as he left it charging next to his bed overnight.
Rachel Gautama, 27, has vowed never to buy an electronic cigarette again after claims the device caught fire, leaving extensive damage to the couple's bedroom floor.
The mum-of-one says she and her husband Toby Gautama, 27, had been asleep at their home in Bury in the early hours of Friday morning, when they were awoken by a loud bang.
Shocking pictures show the extent of the damage caused to the couple's bedroom floor, which appears to be covered in a thick black substance and heavily smoke damaged.
Rachel says she and her family are 'lucky' and fears if the E-cigarette had exploded downstairs, her home could have quite easily been engulfed in flames.
"It was about 5am on Friday morning when we got woken up by a bang and a flash, and we noticed there was a fire," Rachel said.
"My husband had left the E-cigarette charging on his bedside table but when we woke up it was on the floor.
"Our three-year-old daughter was in the room next door so I went to check on her as we didn't really know what was going on.
"I was really shocked, you don't expect to wake up to an E-cigarette blowing up."
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Rachel says she had seen a post on Facebook about a similar incident a few years ago, but 'never expected' it would happen to her family.
"It is really worrying because if that E-cigarette had been charging downstairs we would not have woken up and the downstairs of our house would have been on fire."
"It's scary to think what could have happened, so we're not buying another one now.
"I've not put my Christmas lights back on since it happened because I'm worried it might happen again."
Rachel says she and her husband went back to the shop they bought it from in Bury to complain, but claims they were 'fobbed off.'
"They just told us all the vaping devices they sold were legitimate and gave us an email for the manufacturer, who I will be contacting.
"You don't expect an E-cigarette you buy from a shop that has been going for years to just explode.
"I've had to claim on the house insurance which has made our premiums go up because now I need to have a whole new carpet."
"I definitely wouldn't recommend charging an E-cigarette overnight, I'd do it when you can keep an eye on it so this doesn't happen."
