PEOPLE could be relying on lethal electric blankets to keep warm this Christmas, shock research has revealed.

Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards department has issued the warning after half of 108 blankets tested in a safety drive failed checks.

Some were so old they were like "family heirlooms" in what has been described as a "shocking state of affairs".

Last year two people in the county died in fires caused by faulty electric blankets and county hall bosses want to prevent any other tragedies.

People are now being urged to give blankets regular safety checks or throw out ones more than 10 years-old to ensure their own safety.

The free checks run by the council have taken place in Accrington and two other places in the county over the past two months.

Common problems included loose wiring in plugs, incorrect fuses and faulty switches.

County Coun Tim Ormrod, the county Council's cabinet member for public protection and rural affairs, said: "We asked members of the public to bring their blankets in for checks and uncovered a shocking state of affairs.

"We found frayed wires, broken insulation and many blankets more than 10 years-old when they were made without overheating protection such as cut-out devices to prevent blankets overheating.

"Thankfully, however, the failure rate has dropped since we made our first series of checks six years ago.

"The good news is that we found fewer blankets in a dangerous condition, but the failure rate as a proportion of the total number checked remained fairly constant.

"Many people clearly regard electric blankets as family heirlooms. Our advice is to replace them when they get to 10 years old. If a blanket looks past its best it probably is."

In Accrington 17 out of the 30 tested failed. The day of checks was run in conjunction with Hyndburn Homewise and Age Concern respectively.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council's checks last winter also revealed that half of blankets tested failed.