An investigation has been launched after a child’s ride-on toy car burst into flames suddenly in Dundee.
The one-year-old Mercedes model, bought from leading UK-wide company Kids Cars Direct, burned out in less than 10 minutes on Boxing Day.
The customer, Pauline Thomson, said she was “in shock” after watching the flames suddenly take hold while the car was sitting in the family’s front garden.
Fortunately, the car was not occupied by any of the family’s three children at the time.
Pauline said the family, who live in Broughty Ferry, are all “relieved” nobody was hurt.
She said: “The kids were playing with it but it ran out of charge so they left it under a tree in the garden.
“Just minutes later, flames were leaping out of it. It could have been a tragic accident.
“Imagine if one of our children had been inside.
“The car is normally inside our house too so if it had happened indoors it could have destroyed our home.
“We were relieved our children were safe. It was concerning and frightening.
“We didn’t know if the battery could cause an explosion. The fire service arrived really quickly.”
All customers who purchased cars from the same batch have been notified by the company about the fire.
Pauline added although the fire “should never have occurred” in a children’s toy she said Kids Cars Direct had been “exceptional” in its response.
She said: “The company have been excellent. We have been blown over with how cooperative they have been.
“The managing director was on the phone within several hours.
“They were going to collect it but the car was completely destroyed so there was no point.
“Our main concern is that we wanted to make sure people are aware this has happened.”
Kids Cars Direct say the incident has been reported to them by the customer but would not comment further until establishing the possible cause.
The car, manufactured by global company Kalee, can no longer be purchased, having been superceded by a more popular model in 2017.
Both companies have confirmed they have received no other similar reports with regard to any of their other cars. Kalee’s production department and engineers are currently investigating.
