Electric blanket testing

This week 140 blankets were tested as Bexhill residents queued to take advantage of the free service on Monday and Tuesday in the community room behind the office in Sackville Road.

Manager Margaret Von Speyr said: "The Bexhill Caring Community has always done blanket testing because Rother District Council doesn't run the service in the town.

"It is very important because you only need a small fault in a blanket and it could cause a house fire - over 5,000 house fires are caused every year by faulty blankets.

"This service is a potential life-saver. It is vitally important for blankets to be tested every year, whatever the age of the blanket, and for instance last year I had one of mine tested, which was only 11 months old, and it failed...some of them just don't pass.

"This is a successful event for the town in that it will save lives."

Among those waiting for their blankets to be examined by test engineer Mike Webber was Lorna Knowles of Upper Sea Road who has her blankets checked every year. Mike was looking for items which failed to meet the standard either because of manufacture, wear and tear, or problems such as loose connections.

Rosemary Fulton-Hart of Richmond Avenue had also made an appointment and said: "I do this because my sister-in-law moved into a house where a child had been smoked to death by a blanket. Her parents didn't know it was malfunctioning and they had forgotten to switch it off. Then the smoke came under the door, and by the time they got her out she was dead - she was only three years old."

Councillor Joy Hughes is a trustee of Bexhill Caring Community and took part in the event by helping run the bric-a-brac stall.

She commented: "It is imperative that people who have blankets get them tested - especially if they live on their own.

"The electric blanket testing is the main part of this but we hope people will look around at the other stalls and spend a bit of money to go towards the funds for our extension to the building - which will be quite expensive."

Trustee Anne Pope was selling tickets for the raffle and spoke of her involvement with the Bexhill Caring Community, having volunteered for the housebound library service for four years because her late father was a client.

She said: "He was always praising the ladies that came round to him... when I retired I saw they were appealing in the Observer for volunteers, so I decided to do something for him and give back to the community. You make friends with the people you visit and they just become part of your life."

"Bexhill Caring Community is for Bexhill people...it is something that other places haven't got."

Attending the two day blanket testing event and also putting across their own health and safety messages were Casa Lifeline, Homecall, Rother District Council Housing Services, Hastings and Rother PCT, East Sussex Trading Standards, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, the Pension Service, Social Care Direct, and Sussex Police.

Anyone who was unable to get an appointment for the session may be interested to know that the next testing in Bexhill will be held at Sidley Baptist church on Tuesday October 28 - for an appointment telephone 01424 457129.