VIDEO: Ticking time bomb warning for Sheffield residents over faulty electrical goods

Electrical Safety First revealed that among the dozens of incidents sparked by faulty devices a total of 13 people either died or were seriously injured in the area last year.

The charity said many of the fires are likely to have been caused by white goods that have been recalled for a fault by the manufacturers - but not returned by residents.

The organisation teamed up with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue to warn that data showed thousands of householders across Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham and Barnsley could have faulty white goods in their homes that should have been returned and now pose a potential fire risk.

They said people could be needlessly putting themselves in danger by continuing to use the dodgy goods and urged the public to sign up to a new scheme that allows you to find out if your appliances are among the hundreds of products that have been recalled in recent years.

Trevor Bernard, head of community safety for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, said: "For consumers, we know that returning a recalled product is not always convenient, especially if it’s an item that you use every day, but recall notices are issued to keep people safe.

"The small inconvenience of returning a recalled item is worth it when you consider that faulty products can electrocute or cause a serious fire.”

The brigade was unable to provide the separated numbers of fatalities and injuries last year as the Home Office figures put these two incidents together under the same category of 'casualties'.

However they said the top three most common faulty goods that caused more than 200 fires since 2011 were tumble dryers, washing machines and cookers.

In January this year a man, woman and their young daughter had to flee their burning home in Laburnum Road, Maltby, after a laptop battery caught fire while the owner was using it.