A man says his family are lucky to be alive after his mobile phone charger exploded in the middle of the night.

Father-of-two Richard Conway, 28, from Ashford, plugged a portable charger case for his iPhone 6 into the wall last night before falling asleep on the sofa.

However, he woke at around 2.45am to a cracking sound and smoke filling the front room.

The plastic case had caught fire.

He explains: "Last night I feel asleep on the sofa but woke up at to the sound of cracking and popping in my ear.

"I could feel heat on my shoulder and the living room was full of smoke.

"At first I didn't know what it was but then realised it was the charger.

"It had caught fire and was burning the sofa. I pushed it off the sofa and onto the carpet and it blew into flames."

The blue case, which he purchased from eBay two months ago for £15, then melted on the floor.

There is now a hole in his carpet, two sofa cushions have been burnt and his Apple wall charger cable has also been damaged.

Fortunately the smoldering case didn't injure his shoulder.

Mr Conway, who is father to Rubi, seven, and Blake, two, has now contacted the buyer on eBay to let them know what happened.

He is also warning others against buying these types of chargers, which act as an external backup power bank for mobile phones.

The railway worker adds: "I got it because I work different hours and need to top up my phone.

"I normally leave it to charge on the kitchen side when I go to bed.

"But, if it wasn't for me falling asleep on the don't I don't think me, my partner Brydee or two children would be here today."

He posted a warning on Facebook this morning, with his post already being shared 70 times.

He said: "I want to warn others about how dangerous they are. If you have one of these chargers throw it away - we are lucky to be here today."