A MARCHWOOD man's electronic cigarette exploded, setting fire to a bedroom in his family home.

Stuart Hagen, 43, from Marchwood, was woken in the night by a bang “like a firework” as part of the device shot across the room and ignited the carpet and walls.

The dad-of-two had unscrewed the battery pack section of the “eGo-T” cigarette and plugged it in to recharge as usual before going to sleep.

But he and his wife jumped out of bed in the middle of the night and he was forced to grab the burning hot item and move it to safety to stop the fire spreading while his terrified wife and children looked on.

The dock worker bought the cigarette from the Pure Vape market stall at Bargate in Southampton at the beginning of August after deciding to give up smoking after 26 years.

The company has apologised for the “extremely rare” incident adding that instructions made it clear not to leave the battery recharging over night.

But Mr Hagen told the Daily Echo: “It went off like a firework and my wife jumped up screaming.

“There was a big bang and that’s what woke my kids up.

“I jumped up and grabbed the end burning my hand. I put it on the pillow to stop the carpet burning and eventually got it into the bathroom.

“My kids were petrified.

“I was worried for the safety of my family.”

He and his wife Nicki jumped out of bed and Mr Hagen grabbed the device to try to stop the fire spreading, burning his hand.

petrified He was able to extinguish the blaze himself without dialling 999.

Now he has vowed to give up smoking altogether and has warned others not to leave their electrical items charging unattended.

He added: “I’m more worried that if someone doesn’t have as quick a reaction time as me it could be even more dangerous for them.

“I’ve tried to stop smoking before but this time I was really doing it for my kids.

“I think I’d rather not smoke at all now after having my life flash before my eyes.”

Adam Brien from Hampshire-based Pure Vape said rechargeable batteries for any product should not be left charging unattended as there is always a chance of a fault occurring with electrical goods.

He added that this was reflected in instructions for his device and that he had sold “many thousands” of cigarettes to happy customers with few problems occurring.

He said: “I am quite happy to write a letter of apology.

“I am happy that the quality standards and fail rates are extremely low with our product. Isolated incidents can occur.

“The vast majority of our customers are happy with our product.”