The owner of a second-hand e-bike that caught fire has warned users to "be
so vigilant" and read the instructions.

Helen Bryce said she was woken up by an explosion and saw a "horrible
orange glow" in her flat in Reading.

No-one was hurt and Mrs Bryce's family alerted all the neighbours but said
the smoke damage to her first-floor property was "breathtaking".

"Read the instructions religiously," she said. "If there's any warning
about not overcharging, set an alarm."

On the night of the fire, Mrs Bryce said she had left her e-bike plugged
into a charger - bought from eBay - by the front door of her flat.

"I was woken up by an explosion, this horrible orange glow in the hallway,
and the hallway was thick with smoke and there was a fire right by the
door," she said.

Her husband, Jason, managed to kick the bike away from the door and Mrs
Bryce, her husband and their two children escaped to safety in the early
hours of 15 December.

We ran around the building, knocking on people's doors... It was
breathtaking the amount of damage that had been done.

"The smoke damage gets everywhere and we tried to save so much of our stuff
but just had to give up."

She added: "It's just really frightening that you can buy stuff online, in
good faith, and actually it's not safe at all."

Following the fire, she has warned e-bike users to "read the instructions religiously".

She added: "Check the instructions, check the batteries for any damage, any little crack or anything - just be so vigilant."

An eBay spokesperson said keeping users safe was the company's top priority
and it requested the product details so that it could fully investigate the issue flagged to it.

They said: "We use block filter algorithms aimed at preventing unsafe
products from being listed, which blocked 4.8m listings in 2022.

"If an unsafe product does make it on to site, we swiftly remove it and
provide product safety education to the sellers to prevent relisting."

They said the company's regulatory portal enabled authorities from around
the world to report listings of unsafe products.

A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokesperson previously said: "The government's top priority is to keep people safe.
"Goods sold in the UK, whether online or on the high street, must meet some
of the strictest safety laws in the world.

"Manufacturers must ensure all products supplied, including the batteries
that power them, abide by product safety regulations before being placed on
the market." 

<https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-64828155>

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