A FATHER who was given a drone for his birthday is sounding a danger warning after the gift exploded, setting fire to his home.

He says serious damage was done to the living room of the Blackburn house - including to the carpets, walls and the fireplace - when the drone burst into flames after it had been plugged-in to charge for around an hour.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, the man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was given the gift by his daughter.

He said: “My daughter and her husband already owned the drone, which was compatible with an iPhone and had used it once or twice before the lockdown began.

“However she then got a new phone, meaning the drone would no longer be any use for her, so she gifted it to me as she knew I’d always wanted one.

“I was looking forward to using it and decided to charge it on Sunday evening. It had been plugged into the wall around an hour when the family decided to go upstairs to bed. I told my wife I’d come back downstairs to unplug it once it had reached full power, but we didn’t even get that far.”

Shortly after the power to the house cut out, prompting the homeowner to go downstairs to investigate. When he opened the living room door, he was met by a fire in the middle of the floor, soon realising it was coming from the drone.

He said: “I ran into the kitchen and wet some towels to chuck over it, which quickly extinguished the flames. We then rang the fire service who gave us advice on how to deal with the mess.

“It was really terrifying to see how quickly the flames had started to grow and how much damage was caused the 30 seconds.

“I dread to think what could have happened had we been sleeping and not realised that the power had tripped.”

The man has contacted the family’s insurance company, trading standards and the Amazon seller the EHang Ghostdrone 2.0 was bought from, and an investigation is set to take place into what caused the explosion.

He said: “An electrician has been around to safety-check our home and has confirmed the fire wasn’t started by a fault in our circuits.

“I’ve since had conversations with people about these devices and they’ve told me how dangerous the batteries are that are used in some drones.

“More than anything I want to warn others of the dangers.”

It is understood the Trading Standards have referred the matter to Amazon's home authority in Hertforshire, where the process of checking documentation will take place.