Households are being urged to register their appliances to improve the way safety alerts and product recalls are distributed.

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service is supporting the Register My Appliance scheme, launched by the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances, designed to make it easier for manufacturers to send safety alerts and product recalls.

On occasion, manufacturers may identify problems with an appliance once the product has been in use for some time.

They then need to contact the owners to get the fault corrected as quickly as possible.

Normally, a quick in-home fix by a qualified technician will remove any risk.

It can be difficult to trace customers as they often do not provide contact details when they buy a product.

Neil Chamberlain, the service’s home safety manager, said: “Everyone should take a few minutes to register their domestic appliances, as this helps to reduce the risk of fires and provides peace of mind.

“Nationally, the fire and rescue service has seen far too many fires involving appliances that have been subject to a safety alert or product recall.”

For more details, and to register, visit www.registermyappliance.org.uk