Man warns about 'knock off' vapes after wife's bag explodes

A man is warning about the dangers of "knock offs" after his wife's vape blew up "like a firework".

Dusty Sheppard said he was outside a pub in Gomshall in Surrey on Friday when "all of a sudden flames flew out" of his wife's handbag.

"It [was] like someone holding a Roman candle," he told the BBC.

"She felt the heat against her leg, threw her bag off and ran away like everybody else. [Her] reactions were very good."

Sheppard said after looking at the debris, they realised two of the vapes' rechargeable batteries - which he described as "cheap knock-offs" - had "literally exploded".

He says he now wants people to be aware of the risks of low-cost purchases.

"We may have been slightly naive because you hear about these things, then all of a sudden it happens. We were lucky."

Sheppard, from Chilworth in Surrey, said fortunately no one was injured during the incident, which was captured on CCTV.

But he added that his wife, Maz, had been "very shaken up afterwards".

She had a "very light singeing" on her arms and fringe, plus scorch marks on her clothing, he said.

Her handbag - which someone threw a dog bowl of water over - had been left "smouldering on the floor", Sheppard added.

Sheppard told the BBC he has since become more cautious about what batteries he buys and how he stores them.

"It was scary," he said. "You start thinking about all the things that could happen [if they had gone off] in the house while we were asleep."

"If they had been in a pocket or close to the skin, then it could have been far worse in terms of injury."

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