Gosport fire: Electrical Safety First charity calls for new safety laws following Hill Park Road incident

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
A charity is asking for the government to introduce stricter safety measure on the sale of certain electric goods following a fire in Hampshire.

Electrical Safety First are making the call for the government to introduce mandatory third-party checks on lithium-ion batteries that are being sold in to the UK market. The call comes following the devastating fire in Hill Park Road, Gosport on Wednesday, June 19 which damaged eight homes. The cause of which is believed to be an e-scooter.

The charity has advised that as it stands, manufacturers are currently able to self-declare that their products conform to safety standards. They believe the change to a third-party check would bring e-bike and e-scooter safety requirements would make it safer and bring it in line with other high risk products such as fireworks.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Lesley Rudd, chief executive of Electrical Safety First commented: “This recent fire in Hampshire is just one of many we’re seeing up and down the country related to the charging of e-bike or e-scooter batteries, an issue that continues to put lives at risk.

“We are urging the next Government to adopt our proposals, laid out last year, to introduce independent third-party certification for e-bikes, e-scooters and their batteries to reduce the risk of substandard batteries entering homes. At present, manufacturers can self-certify their batteries are safe, this needs to end.

“People are dying in these terrible fires and until this will continue until action is taken to address the problem. The call for enhanced safety regulations comes amidst growing concern over lithium-ion battery fires, which continue to pose significant risks across the UK.”

The charity have outlined the recommendations in their report Battery Breakdown.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1877
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice