SWINDON mum Helen Mansell is finally getting a new tumble drier ten months after first alerting the manufacturer to the fact her machine was one of the models at risk of catching fire.

In fact her Hotpoint Aquarius had already suffered a burnt out motor when she responded to the firm’s safety notice in January and registered it for urgent modification.

But after months of fruitless phone calls to chase up engineer appointments she contacted the Swindon Advertiser in frustration.

And this week Hotpoint responded by offering her a new dryer.

A delighted Helen said: “After all this time I feel relieved that I’m getting a drier for the winter.

“I have gone so long without one, it has been awful. “

She bought the machine in 2008 after her kitchen was flooded and she had to replace all her white goods.

“From the moment I had it I had problems with it overheating,” she said. Because the fire risk was not known at the time she called out an engineer and had the motor replaced.

Helen, of Covingham, said: “I looked after it because I didn’t have the money to spend getting engineers out to fix things.”

But the new motor suffered the same problem and after overheating several times it burnt out. It meant she had to take her wet washing to the launderette in Old Town during the winter to be dried.

Then in early January, after she got a letter from Hotpoint warning her of the fire risk, she registered the drier for a modification. Hearing nothing more she called to chase them up in February and was told an engineer would call to make an appointment.

In March she was told she was on the list to be dealt with in June. On June 29 she called again and was told someone would ring.

Over two months later, on September 5, she was advised they would get back to her within 48 hours.

On September 13 and 26 it was a similar story. And even though she had advised them that the motor had already burnt out, she said she was being told it was okay to use the dryer as long as she stayed with it.

London Fire Brigade issued the opposite advice after a faulty Indesit dryer started a fire that ripped through a block of flats.

She was then offered the chance to buy a drier at a much reduced price but only if she was prepared to drive to Oxford, Gloucester or Cheltenham and pick it up herself. It was the last straw. She decided to demand a new drier and she was not prepared to pay. “I was just fed up of being fobbed off,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Hotpoint said: “The safety of our consumers is our number one priority which is why we work hard to resolve all customer matters as quickly and efficiently as we can.

“Our customer services team has contacted Ms Helen Mansell and we are working to address her concerns.”