"Smoke filled downstairs in seconds" - Rugby mother warns parents after baby monitor explosion

A Rugby mum is warning other parents about the use of baby monitors after hers exploded and caught fire.

Shannon Makepeace said she heard a hissing noise coming from the device, which was not plugged into the mains.

Acrid smoke then filled the downstairs of her house as her baby slept upstairs.

"It was a terrifying experience,” said Shannon.

“The monitor was in the kitchen. It had fallen forwards by itself and was making a sort of hissing noise. Smoke was coming out of it really fast and filled the downstairs of my house within seconds. It smelled absolutely awful.”

Her quick-thinking mum Carmen smothered the monitor with a towel and threw it outside. She then put the fire out.

Shannon added: “The monitor burned my kitchen worktop and would no doubt have caused a serious fire had the circumstances been different. We emailed the company and they replied with a very non sympathetic offer of a refund and ‘sorry for the inconvenience’.

Shannon, who has two children, is now warning other parents to be extra careful when using the monitoring devices for their children.

She added: “I bought the Hello Baby monitor from Amazon two weeks ago and I’ve left a review on there to warn other people.

"I don’t want another family going through the same experience – or worse.”

Carmen said the experience has shaken up the whole family.

“We believe the battery exploded,” she said.

"It was in use but not plugged into the mains. Luckily Shannon heard it bang and we were able to get the burning unit out of the house after only a few seconds. The whole downstairs filled with awful, acrid smoke.”

She added: “It was so scary but we feel lucky. The situation could’ve been a lot worse.”

The HB30 model’s serial number was 23003759HR.

The Rugby Advertiser contacted Hello Baby and Amazon. Hello Baby are yet to respond. Amazon said they are ‘in talks’ with Shannon.