A MOTHER from Rudloe claims discount retailer Poundland ignored her warnings about a faulty phone charger which burned her daughter's fingers and could have set fire to her home.

Ann Hazell, of Club Row, bought the iPhone 5s charger from Poundland's Chippenham branch two weeks ago as a temporary replacement for her 17-year-old daughter Saska.

She said: "About two weeks ago we bought an iPhone 5 charger from Poundland until we could get a better make. I have had bought one from there before and it was fine. When we got home my daughter put her phone on charge, and we kept saying there was a strange smell."

For nearly two weeks, the smell, which resembled TCP, plagued the Hazell household, until one day Miss Hazell discovered her phone, which was on the bed, was plugged into a melting lead. The family now think the lead had been melting since its first use.

Mrs Hazell said: "The smell was hard to describe but it smelt a bit like TCP and at first I didn't think anything of it. I didn't think it was burning and it was pretty scary when we found out. We are glad that we found it as it could have been so much worse."

Anxious for other customers who may have bought the same product, the mother contacted Poundland's customer relations freephone number to warn them of the fault but said she was ignored.

She added: "When we went back into the store, I had forgotten the lead but the manager came down and he said no problem and to give the customer services team a call and they would deal with it.

"When I called them they said they couldn't do anything because I didn't have the receipt or packaging and who keeps receipts from Poundland? I just wanted them to be aware of the fire risk, I wasn't after a refund, for goodness sake."

A spokesperson from Poundland said: “We are very sorry to hear of this incident and confirm we are in contact with the customer. Poundland takes the health and safety of its customers very seriously and are currently investigating the matter”.