Badly burned woman warns against 'death trap' hoverboards as one explodes in her bedroom

Sales of hoverboards - two-wheeled self-balancing boards which can cost as much as £400 – are set to surge ahead of Christmas, but Jo Ensell, who lives in Chapel Lane, was left badly burned when her son’s hoverboard caught fire on Saturday morning.

Mrs Ensell bought the hoverboard for her ten-year-old son Henry at the end of October from a ‘reputable’ store – just a week before it set alight in her bedroom.

It was originally thought that the machine was on charge when it burst into flames, but Mrs Ensell confirmed it was not plugged in at the time.

She said: “It was just sitting on the floor. Just a little while earlier my son had it in his arms, but he put it down on the floor in my bedroom. It could have exploded while he was carrying it.”  

Mrs Ensell said she was sitting on her bed when it blew up without warning, leaving her needing hospital treatment and is now urging people to think twice before buying them.

Picture by ARM Images

She said: “I was badly burned. I was in my bedroom and my son had come in and put it down on the floor. I was sitting on my bed and it just exploded.

“People need to know how dangerous these hoverboards are. I am telling as many people as I can about this. Parents are going to be buying these for their children for Christmas, not realising the danger.

“They are expected to be a big seller this Christmas but they are death traps.”

Since the incident, which happened at around 10.30am on November 7, Mrs Ensell said her family are still living in fear.

She said: “None of us can sleep since it happened. Every time my son sees a hoverboard, even on the television, he goes into meltdown. He gets so upset.

“It was terrifying, but it could have been so much worse. I am glad it was me who was burnt and not my son.”

Mrs Ensell is still receiving treatment for her injuries at the burns unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

The incident happened just before Electrical Fire Safety Week, a national campaign to encourage people to treat electricity with care.

Fraser Pearson, communication manager at Bucks Fire, said the fire service could not comment on the individual case, but said they were working closely with Trading Standards and the London Fire Brigade, who have also reportedly attended similar incidents.