Hoverboards seized in Telford over safety fears

Telford & Wrekin Council seized the boards yesterday from a retailer in the area, and investigations were today continuing.

The council said its Trading Standards team took away eight of the boards, which were worth £300 each.

However, the council was unable to name the retailer involved.

Russell Griffin, spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council said: "Our Trading Standards team has already seized eight hoverboards from a local retailer because of concerns about their safety.

"They were being sold at £300 each and investigations are continuing."

This comes after the a warning was put out about hoverboards, after they were tipped to become one of this year's most popular Christmas presents.

National Trading Standards (NTS) said 15,000 of the 17,000 self-balancing scooters examined since October 15 had been detained, mainly for having non-compliant electrical components that could explode or catch fire.

Many of the boards were found to have non-compliant plugs without fuses, which increase the risk of the device overheating, exploding or catching fire, and cut-off switches which failed when tested.

Chargers, cabling and batteries were also found to fail safety standards.

Many of the seized items carried a fake CE marking, and NTS advised consumers not to rely on a CE mark as an indication that a hoverboard is safe.

NTS said there had been a huge spike in the number of hoverboards arriving into the UK in recent weeks, destined to end up as Christmas gifts, and additional staff were being trained to carry out testing.

Lord Toby Harris, NTS chairman said: "Our teams at sea ports, postal hubs and airports have seen a significant spike in the number of unsafe hoverboards arriving at national entry points in recent weeks and are working around the clock to prevent dangerous items from entering the supply chain.

"We suspect that most of these products are being imported for onward sale domestically as Christmas approaches.

"We urge consumers to be on their guard when purchasing these products and advise you read our product safety checklist to help ensure you are not purchasing a dangerous item."

If anyone has concerns about the safety of boards contact Telford & Wrekin Council's Trading Standards on 01952 381818.