More than 40,000 sign Whirlpool recall petition

More than 40,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the government to force Whirlpool to recall millions of faulty tumble dryers.

The machines have been "linked to hundreds of fires and at least two deaths", says the Daily Mirror. As many as four million dryers sold under the Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline brands between April 2004 and September 2015 could be at fault.

Whirlpool, which owns the affected brands, has written to 3.8 million customers to ask them to register for a repair, but only received 1.5 million responses. It says 1.3 million of these have been resolved.

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However, a backlog has amassed as the issue has gained publicity and those in the queue could be left waiting up to a year, says the BBC.

Last night, under pressure from Trading Standards, Whirlpool issued a statement telling owners they should "unplug [the dryer] and do not use it until the modification has taken place".

It added: "Trading Standards confirmed, following an internal review by independent experts, that the modification programme remains the most effective way of resolving this issue.

"Since the launch of this campaign, safety has been our number one priority. We have consistently responded to the advice of Trading Standards and continue to do so.

"Trading standards have now notified us that updated usage advice should be communicated to consumers and we are implementing this."

Consumer organisation Which? has started legal action against Trading Standards for failing to get tougher with the company. In addition, more than 75,000 people have signed the group's own petition calling for action.

Alex Neill, director of legal services for Which?, said: "Fundamentally we now believe a full recall is necessary.

"The government must urgently address the issues with the product safety system as it shouldn't require the threat of judicial review to ensure that consumers are protected from dangerous products."

The government must respond to any petition with more than 10,000 signatures. If a petition reaches 100,000 signatures, the issue will be considered for debate in parliament.