Argos apologise for faulty washing machine that caused flat fire

Dean Bland, 30, claimed he was left homeless last night after firefighters warned him it was not safe to sleep in his ground floor flat in Campbell Park.

The 30-year-old protested outside the headquarters of Argos owners Home Retail Group yesterday evening after his four-year-old Bush WM1270TVE washing machine “blew up”.

He told the Citizen: “Things could have been a lot worse if I hadn’t risked my life to pull the washing machine into the middle of the kitchen.

“But I am now homeless for the night and I want Home Retail Group to do something about it.

“I want massive compensation for what has happened because I have a bad headache now and a really sore throat from the smoke.”

The blaze prompted a warning from firefighters who urged people to check their electrical products have not been recalled.

Mr Bland says he had “no idea” it was on the product recall list.

A spokesman for Argos said: “We sincerely apologise to Mr Bland and his partner for the problems they have experienced with their Bush washing machine.

“Argos strives to offer quality products so we were very concerned to learn of the fault with the item.

“We are taking this situation very seriously and have spoken to Mr Bland and advised that an engineer will visit as soon as possible to investigate the cause of the fire as a matter of urgency.

“Subject to the investigation we will know what further action we can take.

“We have advised Mr Bland to speak to his housing association to find alternative accommodation in the short term.”