More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Home Sittingbourne News Article
A woman had a lucky escape when her mobile phone started to catch fire.
Holly Hewett was asleep when she was woken by a “sizzling sound” and the smell of smoke.
Leaning out of her bed, she could see her Samsung Galaxy S4 smouldering as it charged on the floor next to her.
Grabbing the device, she ran to the ensuite bathroom and threw it in the sink.
The incident happened at her Kemsley flat at around 5.15am on Friday.
The 25-year-old said: “I woke up at 4.30am when my boyfriend got up to go to work and looked at my phone to check the time.
“I noticed it was running low on battery so I plugged it in and put it on charge.
“At about 5am I checked the time again then rolled over and went back to sleep, but within about 10 minutes of that I heard a sizzling sound.
“Even though it was dark I could smell the smoke.
“I picked it up and the screen sparked.
“As I walked to the bathroom the battery fell out of the casing at the back on to the floor.
“I didn’t burn myself but there’s a hole in the carpet where it scorched it.
“The smell was awful, so I opened a window.
“I was on my own and panicked because I’d got no house phone so I didn’t know how to contact anyone to let them know what had happened.
“My boyfriend’s brother is about a five-minute drive away, but I kept thinking ‘it’s too early’.
“In the end, after unplugging everything, I drove to my dad’s in Lynsted.”
“Luckily I’m not a very deep sleeper – any sound usually wakes me up, but it could have been a different story” - Holly Hewett
She added: “I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before.
“It had only been charging for about 50 minutes, if that.
“I was extremely lucky. I’d warn others not to put their phones on charge while they are sleeping.
“Luckily I’m not a very deep sleeper – any sound usually wakes me up, but it could have been a different story.”
A spokesman for Samsung said: “Once we have received the product in question, we will conduct a thorough examination to determine the exact cause of the incident.
"We would like to assure our customers that we employ robust quality controls and standards to ensure the safety of our products.”
Stories you might have missed
Post mortem today after Peaches Geldof's body found at home
Teenager hospitalised after attack
Thousands of children's health at risk near 'polluted' schools
