Lighter catches fire in pocket

TEENAGER Daniel Rix is today nursing burns to his hand after a lighter exploded in his coat pocket.

Daniel suffered the injuries after trying to pat out the flames which quickly took hold.

His coat is now ruined and the heat of the flames melted the outside of his wallet.

Daniel, 17, of Fiske Pightle, Willisham, bought the lighter on Saturday for £1.99 from a market stall in the Cornhill, Ipswich.

He said: "I was standing outside McDonald's eating a burger when my mate told me my coat was on fire.

"I didn't feel the heat at all until I started trying to pat the flames down – that's when I burnt my hand."

Friend Kyle Wicko, 16, of Carmarthen Close, Ipswich, was standing with Daniel at the time.

And it was he who raised the alarm when he saw flames licking up the side of Daniel's body.

He said: "We were just standing there eating our burgers and I just noticed Daniel was on fire.

"It went up pretty quickly – it was as if you'd just started a small paper fire. It had set light to the plastic in his coat pocket so it was going up."

Daniel managed to put out the blaze by taking off his jacket and swinging it around, but he now wants answers as to how the lighter went wrong.

David Baker, assistant Suffolk Trading Standards officer said: "Buying from reputable and established traders is always advised as shoppers have the peace of mind that items can be returned if found to be faulty. Buying cheap goods from a trader that may not be there next week may seem cheap in the short term but can have very high long-term costs.

"Regarding the unsafe lighter - all consumer products must be safe to use. If not we want to hear about it because we can give trader advice and take appropriate action, if necessary."

Anyone wanting further advice or wishing to report goods they have purchased that have proved to be of inferior quality can contact the Trading Standards advice line on 01473 584358