Parents Terrifying Warning After Popular Device Burns Hole in Sons Bed

An 11-year-old boy had a very close call after a Samsung tablet burnt a hole in his bed while he slept.

Callum Hewkin had taken the gadget into his room so he could watch a programme in bed and had fallen asleep with the device next to him.

His parents awoke the next morning to find his room full of smoke and a big burn mark where the youngster’s head had been, reports Daily Mail.

His parents, Amy and Stewart Hewkin have spoken out about the terrifying ordeal, which fire crews said could have been fatal for the whole family.

Mrs Hewkin, 33, was woken by her son last Thursday morning, who believed his tablet was stuck to the bed, and with her husband, Mr Hewkin, 32, entered his room to discover the tablet – which was minutes away from catching fire.

The couple said the tablet had left a melted hole in his bedding and mattress to the metal springs.

device

They highlighted they had no idea their son had snuck the four-year-old gadget into his room after they went to bed, leaving it on charge for up to nine hours, as they enforce a strict no electricals at night rule.

Mr Hewkin said: ‘The last thing anyone wants is to wake up and find their child seriously injured or dead because a tablet or phone has set fire in their room.

‘We feel like we’ve had a lucky escape – Callum’s life could have been at risk.

‘We had no idea he even had his tablet in his room, he had snuck it into bed with him because he wanted to watch something in bed.’

Fire crews told Mr Hewkin had the gadget been left for another 10 minutes, it could have started a serious blaze which could even have been fatal for the whole family.

Callum, who was using the original charger with his device, has been left feeling stressed and anxious at school following the ordeal but miraculously escaped uninjured.

The couple has urged other parents to do another check on their kids to make sure they don’t have their tablets or phones with them in bed.

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27 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 03 May 2023
    10:25 am
items should never be left to charge on a bed. They need airflow. You should never allow your child to go to bed with an internet device anyway. They should all be left in the lounge or kitchen

- - mom462038 said
  - 16 Apr 2020
    1:51 pm
A lesson to be learnt for all. You cannot leave these things charging on flammable goods. Switch all off at bed time

- - mom81879 said
  - 24 Oct 2019
    2:57 pm
Yep, charging devices for long periods on soft flammable items is a danger. This news has been around for a while now

- - AmbieBambi said
  - 31 Jul 2019
    3:25 pm
Wow. That would have been scary. Our plan is to not have tablets for the kids to use :S

- - mom343701 said
  - 31 Jul 2019
    6:50 am
our rule, electronic devices not in bedroom at night….

- - Blossom said
  - 20 Jul 2019
    5:56 pm
I always unplug mt laptop while I am not using it. I only use it on a dining table or desk. I rarely charge my phone in my bedroom unless I have set the alarm

- - nadine_hill said
  - 11 Jul 2019
    8:22 pm
This is dreadful – so pleased he wasn’t hurt in any way.

- - becstalou said
  - 04 Jul 2019
    12:02 pm
It always seems to be Samsung. Hopefully it’s a timely reminder for people and good that no one got hurt.

- - mom129591 said
  - 02 Jul 2019
    6:18 pm
Imagine if that was on his little body. Far out, so scary.

- - rovermum said
  - 01 Jul 2019
    9:34 am
Wow, thank God everyone was okay. We also have a rule of no devices in the bedroom, and this is a good reminder why. We always charge on a stand in a general area. And I am always reminding the family not to overcharge as I’ve heard this can cause issues. A timely reminder for everyone.

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 01 Jul 2019
    8:57 am
That’s crazy! I never thought they could catch on fire!

- - tessie said
  - 30 Jun 2019
    12:19 pm
I leave my phone or laptop on charge overnight but I always have the vent facing up so the surface doesn’t get too hot. I’ve gone to bed with my tablet and fallen asleep but never on charge. I’m just so glad Callum wasn’t injured in any way

- - MisChip said
  - 28 Jun 2019
    11:16 pm
Argh! I often leave my tablet on charge overnight. Not on my bed, but it could cause a fire anywhere!

- - musicmum said
  - 28 Jun 2019
    10:50 pm
You must never leave gadgets charging unattended EVER! We all know that laptops and tablets can get quite warm if you keep them on your lap, teach your kids to use them without the charger on and never on materials especially nylon or polyester that smolders really easily. Do a quick check and account for all gadgets before going to sleep, just like you check all doors are locked etc.

- - mom101628 said
  - 28 Jun 2019
    10:13 pm
So lucky for the family. These devices are never left on charge in my house overnight.

- - Mum2archer said
  - 28 Jun 2019
    3:16 pm
Very lucky for that whole family and I am gad nothing more serious happened to them. I think that boy has now learnt a very important lesson!!

- - DaffyD said
  - 27 Jun 2019
    8:41 am
Oh that’s a scary story I often take mine to bed, I’ll make sure its out before I sleep from now on

- - Ellen said
  - 27 Jun 2019
    8:04 am
Oh my goodness, this is serious ! Thank God, nothing worse happened !

- - rnash02 said
  - 27 Jun 2019
    7:25 am
This is why I never let my kids take theirs to bed, very scary

- - nealsq said
  - 27 Jun 2019
    12:10 am
not sure how many times people need to be told not to fall asleep with these things on their beds! They get hot! Use your brains and stop trying to blame the manufacturer! This has been a stupid problem for years
- musicmum replied
  
  28 Jun 2019 , 10:53 pm
  I agree, they have warned about this many times.