Toy car sends birthday girl's dreams up in smoke after present hidden in garden catches fire and forces family to flee home
- Pink toy Jeep was hidden under a trampoline outside as a surprise present
- Freak fire destroyed the toy, the trampoline and melted house window sills
- Mother and four children evacuated as house filled with smoke
- Denise Gilpin, from North Yorkshire, says there was a problem with the toy
- Manufacturer Fin4Kids investigating what caused the freak fire
By Helen Collis
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A mother and her four children had to flee their beds in the middle of the night when a toy Jeep caught fire in a freak blaze.
Denise Gilpin had bought the pink children's Jeep as a surprise present for her daughter Ella-Rose’s fifth birthday on Sunday.
She hid it in the garden under a 15ft trampoline next to a pushchair, bike and football kit because she had no room in their house.
Shock: Five-year-old Ella-Rose Gilpin had no idea she was getting a toy Jeep for her birthday until the family had to evacuate the house after when it burst into flames
But the Rocket RS Sports Kids Ride-on-Jeep, which cost £139.99, caught fire at 3.30am on Friday morning after a suspected electrical fault - sending Denise and her kids running for safety as their fire alarms sounded.
The flames were perilously close to the house at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, and just feet away from an outdoor barbecue with gas canister.
Denise said: 'The smoke was billowing from the garden and all I could see was this bright orange light.
'We had our windows open because it was a hot night and it could have easily caught onto our curtains.
Freak fire: The Rocket RS Sports Kids Ride-on-Jeep was hidden under the trampoline outside - both of which were destroyed by the fire
The fire in the back garden resulted in the family being evacuated from their home in the middle of the night. The flames were so close to the home that the window sills were melted
'We quickly evacuated outside of the house, and called the fire brigade. When they arrived, they couldn’t believe how much of a lucky escape we had.
'The barbecue gas canister and gas boiler could have easily exploded and the fire was powerful enough to melt the windowsills on the kitchen.'
A single fire crew quickly put out the blaze with a hose reel but it caused damage put at £900 and wrecked the toy, pushchair, bike, football kit and the trampoline.
Denise - mum to sons Jamie, 20, and Nathan, 18, and daughters Cheyanne, 12, and Ella-Rose, four - had bought the jeep online from Amazon.
Denise Gilpin said she was shocked when the manufactured offered her a replacement
She rang them as soon as their offices opened at 6am and they initially offered her an exchange but have since changed that to a refund.
Unemployed Denise, who is currently going through a divorce, said: 'This jeep could have easily killed us. The kids could have been playing on the trampoline.
'I was shocked with disbelief when they offered me a replacement - they should be taken it off the shelves.'
She added: 'The Jeep was supposed to be an amazing surprise for Ella-Rose, but that has now been ruined.
'We’re just so lucky that we have not been injured or seriously hurt as it could have been so much worse.'
A spokesman for manufacturers Fun4Kids said: 'To say I am a little surprised to hear this would be an understatement.
'I am very familiar with this item which complies fully with European and British safety standards. I have never heard of a battery bursting into flames/exploding materials in my eight years of selling toys I have never come across anything such as this.
'Nonetheless I would like to get to the bottom of the matter.
'We would like to arrange to inspect the complete vehicle so we can carry out further tests to establish exactly if and how this could happen.
'We take matters of safety very seriously and wish to investigate this to the full extent.'
North Yorkshire Fire are investigating whether the small fire was caused by an electrical fault within the car.
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And her point is? They offered her a return. They offered her a refund. This is not really news, is it.
- Suzie12 , Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, 16/7/2013 05:03
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