A warning has been issued after a fake mobile phone charger bought in Margate burst into flames.

Buildings manager “Trav” Travers bought the charger from Fonez in Margate High Street and had owned it for about a week before the incident.

It led to a raid on the shop where some 50 dodgy chargers were snatched by a taskforce of officers from Kent County Council’s Trading Standards, Kent Police and Kent Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Travers described his unnerving experience. He said: “It was plugged in, close to some curtains, when I saw flames coming from the socket. I managed to pull it out before it did any further damage, but if I hadn’t been close by, it could easily have caught the curtains alight. Who knows how it could have spread after that?

“In another house, plugged in overnight, it could be fatal.”

Mr Travers said he had paid £8 for the charger for his Samsung Galaxy phone. They normally retail for about £15 elsewhere, but he went to Fonez for convenience, as it is near his home, rather than price.

“It looked like an authentic, official piece of equipment. It never occurred to me that, just because it was cheap, it might be a fake,” he said. “My warning to anyone who needs a replacement charger is to get it from an accredited dealer.”

Trading Standards is urging people not to buy mobile phone chargers just because they are cheap - chances are they may be fake and the results could be fatal.

This follows a warning in July about such chargers which have the micro USB fitting suitable for most modern phones, but also include a number of faults with the electrical wiring and other components.

Trading Standards manager Mark Rolfe said: “At first glance, it is not obvious that these chargers are fakes. The people who produce them go to a lot of trouble to make them look authentic, but the working parts inside are often not of the proper standard and, if left plugged in and unattended, could prove lethal.”

The advice from KCC Trading Standards and Kent Fire and Rescue is that, if you have bought one of these chargers, from this shop or any other, stop using it immediately and return it to the shop.

If you have any concerns about the safety of a product you have purchased you should contact KCC Trading Standards on 08458 040506.