BEKO has issued a safety alert for thousands of tumble dryers over concerns they could pose a fire risk, including one model found to have caused a blaze that killed a mother of two.

The manufacturer said 3,450 of its condenser tumble dryers could pose a fire risk due to an overheating component as it began a voluntary repair programme "as a precautionary measure".

The safety notice concerns five Beko and Blomberg 8kg and 9kg capacity dryers sold between May and November 2012 and carrying the model numbers DCU9330W, DCU9330R, DCU8230, DSC85W and TKF8439A.

Beko has urged anyone who owns one of the machines to stop using it immediately and disconnect it from the wall as a precaution.

In an statement posted on its website, Beko said: "As part of our ongoing monitoring we have identified a batch issue with a third party supplied component which in rare circumstances could fail and overheat, which could lead to a risk of fire.

"As a responsible manufacturer, we have decided to proactively contact the owners of these condenser tumble dryers to offer a free of charge in-home check and to modify affected products to remove any potential risk. This is completely free of charge and will take no longer than 30 minutes."

Beko has asked consumers to check the model and serial number of their dryer on its website and, if affected, to register for an engineer to check and if necessary repair the machine.

In August last year a coroner found that a defective Beko DCS 85W caused a house fire that killed mother-of-two Mishell Moloney, 49, from Birmingham, although Beko stressed on Tuesday that the fault related to the fatal blaze was separate from the problem identified in the safety alert.