CREWS have been called to more than 70 fires relating to washing machine and dryers in West Yorkshire over the last five years, as a leading firm started recalling its products due to a safety flaw.

A total of 33 Indeset products, 31 Hotpoint products and nine Whirlpool machines have caused fires since January 2015, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service revealed.

However, a fire service spokeswoman added it was important to note for fairness that not all of these fires were due to a fault in the product.

Instead in some of the incidents the machines were used incorrectly, for example oily tea towels left in a dryer, which goes against manufacturer’s instructions.

These figures came as consumers affected by the Whirlpool recall of as many as 519,000 washing machines nationwide should be offered the option of a refund alongside a repair or replacement, watchdog Which? urged.

Whirlpool is beginning the recall today after announcing last month that hundreds of thousands of washing machines sold under the Hotpoint and Indesit brands in the UK between October 2014 and February 2018 could be affected by a flaw with the door-locking system which could lead to them overheating and potentially catching fire.

The company has offered to repair or replace the unsafe machines, but Which? said it had "serious concerns" that this could leave significant numbers of customers with the dangerous appliances in their homes for many months to come.

The watchdog said its concerns followed its findings that 26 per cent of customers caught up in Whirlpool's previous repair or replacement programme for fire-risk tumble dryers, which began in 2015, were told they would have to wait longer than six months for repairs.

Whirlpool previously said it was working at "full speed" to prepare for the recall, and advised consumers to unplug their washing machines in the meantime and not use them.

Those who chose to continue using their machines should only use cold water cycles of 20C or lower as this significantly reduces the risk, Whirlpool said.

This is because the issue is associated with the washing machine's heating element being activated during wash cycles above 20C.

Under the recall, all affected customers will have the choice of either a free-of-charge like-for-like replacement washing machine, or a free-of-charge in-home repair of their existing appliance.

Jeffrey Noel, Whirlpool vice-president, said: "In line with the commitment we made to our customers in December, we have been working tirelessly to ensure that we can now formally reach out to all affected customers who have registered with us to arrange to replace and repair their washing machines.

"We have also served over a thousand customers with the greatest need over the Christmas period.

"We are aiming to provide remedies to all 60,000 customers currently registered with us within a matter of weeks.

"Our priority continues to be the safety of our customers, which is why we want to encourage anyone who may be affected but has not yet registered their appliance with us to do so immediately by contacting our customer service team on 0800 316 1442 or visiting our dedicated recall website; washingmachinerecall.whirlpool.co.uk so that we can provide a solution to them as quickly as possible."