THEY were just a few feet from disaster.

Dad Clive Eyre sprang into action when he found 4ft high flames shooting out of his family’s tumble dryer.

He managed to put out the fire with the help of a neighbour - but it could have been so much worse.

The dryer was just a few feet away from potentially-explosive oxygen tanks used by his son for a medical condition.

Clive relived the terrifying moment the Hotpoint dryer erupted into flame, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

It happened just days before it was revealed that Hotpoint, Indesit and Creda tumble dryers dating back to 2004 may pose a fire risk.

Indesit says it is still in the process of contacting affected customers, who are being warned not to leave their devices unattended and to clean fluff from the filter after each use.

In “rare” cases a build-up of lint can come into contact with the dryer’s heating element, which could pose a fire risk, the manufacturer explained.

Customers can check online if their appliance is among those affected by keying in the model and serial number on the Indesit website.

Mr Eyre hopes that his story helps prevent others going through a similar experience.

He had finished work and returned to his Hedge End home before starting the Hotpoint dryer, which was in a garage less than five feet from his house.

Ten minutes later the electricity in the house suddenly went off and, after Clive flipped a switch in the fusebox it went out again.

It was only after going to the garage that he discovered flames shooting out of the tumble dryer.

He lunplugged the device before dousing the flames with the help of his neighbour.

The fire caused £550 damage and was only feet away from potentially-explosive oxygen tanks stored in the house to treat his son Ryan’s medical condition.

Clive said: “The trouble is that it would have spread and there’s flammable stuff out there - it would have spread into the property and that’s not worth thinking about. It would have been a massive explosion.

Daily Echo:

“It was just by chance that it happened. I’m really lucky that I saw it and it didn’t get any worse because it was only on fire less than 10 minutes.”

Regarding the ongoing risk an Indesit spokesman said: “We estimate that a significant number of units will be affected, but at this stage, we cannot speculate regarding the specific figure.

“These products were marketed in the UK and a number of other countries over the past 11 years, so we would expect a fairly large number of them to be affected.”

Hotpoint did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Echo.