A father-of-three is warning of the fire risks associated with phone chargers after finding his own with a melted cable and charred wire.

Ipswich Star: Michael Pooley with the phone charger that melted.Michael Pooley with the phone charger that melted.

Michael Pooley, of Ransome Crescent, Ipswich, left his phone charging in his bedroom on Wednesday before he was alerted by his young son to the smell of burning.

The 23-year-old first searched his children’s rooms before going into his own to find his iPhone charger melting – just two hours after putting the phone on charge.

“I would dread to think if I had not realised or if I had fallen asleep or something, and if there had been a fire,” Mr Pooley said.

When he phoned Apple to report the issue and sent in a picture of the burnt wire, Mr Pooley was reportedly told the problem occurred because the wire was “twisted and pulled” .

Mr Pooley, who has three children – Alfie-Lee, five, Kobie-James, four, and three-year-old Riley-George – was then offered a replacement charger, he claimed.

“I said it’s not the case of needing a replacement, if I wanted a new wire I would buy one, it’s the fact that what happened shouldn’t have happened,” he added.

He is now hoping to make other people aware of the dangers of leaving a phone on charge where it cannot be seen, or leaving the charger in the plug after the phone is charged.

“If it’s happened once maybe it could happen again to someone else and something worse could happen,” said Mr Pooley, who lives with his 23-year-old girlfriend, Siobhan Moloney.

An Apple spokeswoman assured customer safety was a “top priority” at the company and all of its products – including USB power adapters for iPhone, iPad, and iPod – underwent “rigorous” testing for safety and reliability and were designed to meet government safety standards.