THE supermarket shelves are flooded with cheap Halloween costumes for kids that can catch fire in as little as ONE SECOND.
Retailers including Aldi, Asda and Lidl have options for less than £5 — but our probe reveals the materials are highly flammable.
Be careful – your tot’s Halloween costume could be highly flammable if it’s a cheap supermarket version
Scary in more ways than one – a child’s Halloween costume goes up in flames
HOAR on Sunday took nine spooky outfits into a controlled environment at the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters in Sunderland and set light to them.
The inflation-busting costumes ignited in seconds and some had to be extinguished by a firefighter.
A witch costume from Asda, designed for a child aged three to four, caught fire in just one second and the whole dress was obliterated in less than two minutes.
A Zombie Werewolf outfit from Aldi took just two seconds to ignite before it began to rapidly burn.
All the garments were made from 100 per cent polyester, a type of plastic, and carried labels urging buyers to keep them away from flames.
When the material is set alight, it melts into a boiling hot liquid capable of causing burns.
In 2015, Strictly presenter Claudia Winkleman’s daughter was burned in a Halloween costume accident.
She said: “I would like parents on Halloween to think about what they’re going to put their kids in because I didn’t, and it cost us.”
TWFS Headquarters manager Jonny Ramanayake explained that Halloween costumes are not put through the same rigorous testing as clothes because they are classed as toys.
However, some retailers have signed up to a voluntary code from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to ensure costumes have a maximum burn rate of 10mm per minute.
Mr Ramanayake said: “Because the material is plastic it will cling to the skin and cause second and third degree burns, if not worse.
“The toxic fumes released are dangerous in themselves and could harm anyone in close proximity.
“Be mindful of your environment and supervise younger children. If a costume does catch fire, stop, drop and roll to extinguish the flame.
“Alert the emergency services — burns can develop rapidly and need immediate medical attention.”
Ranging in price from £4.99 to around £13, the outfits are cheaper than standard clothing and come with fire warning labels.
Marc Gander, a spokesman for Consumer Action Group, explained: “The reason retailers use such hazardous materials is because they can. There is no regulation from Trading Standards.”
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service Jonny Ramanayake puts these kids’ costumes to the test
Morrisons Galactic Witch, ages two to three, £7.99
This Morrisons dress can ignite in just 5 seconds
Ignition: 5 secs.
Burning: 1 min 1 sec. Dripping plastic.
Morrisons said: “All of our costumes are independently tested to well above the legally required safety standard, but also to a tougher new test which recreates real-life accidents.
“Customers can be confident they exceed safety requirements.”
Home Bargains Corpse Bride, ages five to six, £8.99
When this Home Bargains costume was burned, flames went through, burning the inner layer
Ignition: 5 secs.
Burning: 3 mins 56 secs. Flames went through inside, burning inner layer.
Home Bargains said: “The product has passed the relevant toy and clothing product standards, and is labelled with appropriate fire safety warnings and confirmation of additional safety testing for flammability.”
Tesco Witch, ages five to six, £9
This Tesco witch dress burned through to the hanger
Ignition: 10 secs.
Burning: 5 mins 36 secs. Burned through to the hanger.
Tesco said: “All our Halloween costumes meet the most stringent recognised industry safety standards and are made from materials that perform well in flammability tests.
“We’ve made our safety labels bigger and more visible.”
Wilko Toddler Witch, ages one to two, £8.50
The inside of this Wilko dress for toddlers burned rapidly
Ignition: 6 secs.
Burning: 5 mins 56 secs. Inside of dress burned rapidly. Melted plastic dripped.
Wilko said: “Nothing matters to us more than our customers’ safety and that of their young families.
“We have independently tested all our Halloween costumes to British Retail Consortium standards.”
Wilko Witch, ages seven to eight, £10.50
This Wilko dress for older kids had its bottom half completely disintegrate on the floor
Ignition: 6 secs.
Burning: 3 mins 3 secs. Fire rapidly spread and there was significant damage to the midriff. The bottom half completely disintegrated on to the floor.
Wilko said: “Our quality team has worked diligently to ensure that all our products comply with all relevant legal and regulatory requirements.”
Asda Witch, ages three to four, £12
It took just one second for this Asda dress to ignite
Ignition: 1 sec.
Burning: 1 min 53 secs. Caught alight immediately and flames engulfed the whole dress. Reduced to a burning pile.
Asda said: “We take the safety of our customers extremely seriously, which is why all of our children’s dress-up garments are stringently tested beyond the legal standard.”
Lidl Witch, ages four to six, £4.99
This Lidl dress dripped hot plastic on to the floor
Ignition: 5 secs.
Burning: 1 min 7 secs. Minimal damage, but dripped hot plastic on to the floor.
Lidl said: “Our costumes are subject to rigorous tests that comply with the British Nightwear (Safety) Regulations and the BRC’s codes of practice, which go beyond UK and EU standards.
“This includes additional flammability labelling.”
B&M Sugar Skull, ages eight to ten, £12
Flames crept up this Sugar Skull costume from B&M – they provided no comment
Ignition: 4 secs.
Burning: 7 mins 20 secs. It took a while to burn, but flames still crept up and there were drips of plastic.
B&M said: We contacted B&M to ask them for a comment, but they have not replied.
Aldi Zombie Werewolf, ages nine to ten, £4.99
This Aldi Zombie Werewolf costume ignited in 2 seconds and quickly burned up the right-hand side
Ignition: 2 secs.
Burning: 5 mins 56 secs. Quickly burned up the right-hand side.
Aldi said: “All our costumes go through rigorous testing. This includes European Toy Safety Directive tests and British Nightwear BS 5722 tests, as well as the BRC’s more stringent standards.”
