A shocked York mother has helped highlight a national washing machine safety scare after seeing her toddler open her machine during its cycle.

Kirsty Savage with her son, Louis, and her washing machine that developed a faulty catch

Luckily for three-year-old Louis Savage the drum wasn't spinning at the time and he only flooded the kitchen. But his mum Kirsty says the machine is an "accident waiting to happen" after discovering that she could open it while on full spin.

The faulty Ariston machine has been used by a consumer TV series to illustrate the problem.

Kirsty, who has been waiting several months for a spare part with which to fix the catch, felt she had to share her concerns with other worried parents.

So staff at YTV's We Can Work It Out programme were desperate to use her machine to make viewers aware of a safety warning issued by its manufacturer, Merloni, which also makes Indesit models.

The firm has placed adverts in the national press asking owners to send off for a DIY repair kit and is now offering free call-outs by qualified engineers.

But in none of their warnings have they mentioned the fact that children have already been hurt.

The first recorded accident, in September 1997, happened to Jordan Pearson, from Paisley, who suffered leg injuries when he climbed into an Indesit machine while it was on the spin cycle. He was in hospital for two months and in plaster for a year and now walks with a limp.

A catalogue of further injuries was listed on the show and worried parents, like Kirsty Savage, have been waiting some time for a repair kit from Merloni.

Kirsty, of Handley Close, Clifton Moor, said: "It's as if they are waiting for an accident to happen before they send us this part. Our next door neighbours have the same machine and they received theirs straight away.

"Louis has opened the door a couple of times and it could have been spinning around. Now I watch the kids constantly. I have opened it on full spin and it really shocked me. I have flooded the kitchen a couple of times as well."

A spokesman for Merloni said: "We take customer care very seriously and want to ensure that all customers feel totally secure when using any of our brands.

"A total of 180,000 safety kits have been distributed in response to customers contacting Merloni after the media and mailing safety announcement."

If you are among the 320,000 known owners of the affected Merloni machines - built between 1992 and 1995 - and you are concerned about its door catch, call the company's low rate hotline on (0870) 607 0805.

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