A shocking image shows the destruction caused by a “knock off” Lost Mary vape, which exploded after being plugged in to charge.
Vaper Dom, 29, who does not wish to share his surname, found the carnage after smelling smoke at his flat in New Cross, south-east London.
He had purchased the vape for £9.99 from an off licence in nearby Deptford days earlier and was boosting its battery when the blast occurred.
Smelling smoke, he went to investigate and saw a blaze raging on his bed.
Dom says the vape looked like reputable brand Lost Mary, but he now thinks it was a fake.
He said of the scare: “You hear these stories about vapes, so it wasn’t a colossal surprise.
“The alarm was going off for five minutes. I went into the corridor and saw thick smoke and went into the bedroom and the bed was ablaze.
“I didn’t really know what it was until I got in the room but my vape was plugged into the wall and it was at the centre of the blaze.
“It’s from a not-so-brilliant looking shop in Deptford where they sell them a bit cheaper than anywhere else.
“I always wondered whether they were knock offs, and that’s confirmed my suspicions.”
Fortunately the blaze only damaged the bed, leaving the rest of his rented flat unscathed.
He added: “After I put it out the rest of the day was spent scrapping molten plastic off of the floor.
“It seems like there’s not going to be any lasting damage to the property itself as it’s all coming off the floor.”
Whilst the incident hasn’t put Dom off vaping, he says he won’t be looking to save money on them in the future.
He said: “I’m not going to be buying them from corner shops moving forward.
“It hasn’t put me off them too much, but I won’t be buying from there.
“It cost me £9.99 and normally they’d be about £15.”
Lost Mary has been approached for comment.
Phillip Schofield was seen puffing on a device thought to have been made by the brand in a recent bombshell interview.
