Revealed: The trick or treat costumes that could go up in flames this Halloween

It comes after the presenter Claudia Winkleman highlighted just how flammable children’s Halloween costumes are.

Last year, her daughter Matilda, who was eight at the time, suffered burns to much of her body after her witch costume caught fire from a candle in a pumpkin.

Now Oxfordshire Trading Standards and mum-of-two Drew Kamphuis, have joined the Strictly presenter’s campaign to raise awareness of the dangerous combination of flammable costumes and naked flames.

And in conjunction with Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire & Rescue Service the Oxford Mail tested six costumes for fire safety in a controlled environment. Watch manager Ricky Thomas said he hoped it would “create an awareness of the potential risks involved”.

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As the costumes went up in flames, Mr Thomas said they posed secondary dangers to children. Once alight the nylon material quickly melted and turned into droplets of molten plastic which “would stick to children’s legs” while the harmful smoke they inhaled contained carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.

Mr Thomas said: “The problem is you may not notice it is on fire straight away or until a child feels some sort of discomfort.”

Former firefighter and mother-of-two Drew Kamphuis, who runs First For Safety, a business offering first aid courses for parents, said: “After what happened to Claudia Winkleman’s daughter it has made me think and it has made me change.

“Last year it wasn’t something I thought of, we had candles in pumpkins.

“This year because I’m aware of it After what happened to Claudia Winkleman’s daughter I’m trying to encourage people in the village to use torches which is the best way to prevent anything happening. No matter how careful you are accidents will happen.”

She has put messages on social media groups in Finstock, near Witney, asking people to swap candles for torches in their pumpkins. Mrs Kamphuis said she had also changed the type of costume she dresses her children in. Instead Bella, five, and Tristan, three, will wear cotton skeleton glow-in-the-dark tops and jeans or leggings and their faces will be painted with make-up.

Firefighters Kevin French and Steve Littler with the costumes before the tests

Oxfordshire Trading Standards has also carried out testing on 13 products bought from shops around the county.

It said costumes were displayed correctly and clearly labelled Halloween Costumes.

Of the 13, one costume failed the flammability test – a ‘Hallowe’en Girls Devil Dress’ brought from the Witney 99p Stores Limited.

The item, reference number 020/545 and barcode 5050384205459, has since been withdrawn. Notices have been put in the shop window and anyone who bought the outfit is urged to return it.

Richard Webb, Trading Standards and Community Safety Manager, said: “Our advice is to encourage the public not to use candles generally and to be aware that they pose particular risks with costumes for children.

“You have got a combination of large flowing costumes which are flammable combined with candles.

“There are battery operated lights available which have the appearance of candles without the associated danger.”

SAFETY TIPS

• HALLOWEEN costumes come within the scope of The Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011.

They must comply with the general toy safety standard EN 71-2, which tests how quickly fire burns on a product, a maximum of 30mm a second. It does not require the fabric not to burn.

The toy should also include “Warning. Keep away from fire”. The label should also have a CE mark.

• The Fire Service regularly goes into the county’s schools to teach children the Stop, Drop and Roll technique.

STOP if someone is on fire. They should not run around as moving creates air and increases the fire;

DROP they should immediately drop to the floor immediately and lie flat;

ROLL start rolling around to help to extinguish the fire.

• In the event of a burn this is the advice from the ambulance service: If serious call 999. Cool burn with water for 10 to 30 minutes, do not use ice, iced water, creams or greasy substances.

Keep the person warm, there is a risk of hypothermia.

TESCO BLACK SWAN OUTFIT

• Black Swan costume, £10, from Tesco, Florence and Fred, the label included a warning to keep it away from fire and CE symbol.
• Result: Within 30 seconds the bottom third of the dress was alight, by 60 seconds the flames were moving towards the chest area and by two minutes it was totally destroyed.
• A spokesman for Tesco said: “We’ve re-tested all of our fancy dress costumes, including the black swan costume, and we can confirm they all meet both the legally required toy flammability standard and the tougher children’s nightwear test. This year we’re encouraging our customers to purchase LED alternatives to light their pumpkins and we’ll be providing information for how to have a safe Halloween on our website.”

SAINSBURY'S PUMPKIN OUTFIT

• Pumpkin outfit with matching hat, Sainsbury’s, £10. The label included a warning to keep it away from fire and CE symbol.
• Result: By 30 seconds the leggings were well alight and the fire had progressed to the padded body section. Smoke was pushed upwards through the neck and arm holes. By 60 seconds the body section had caught alight and at two minutes most of it was on fire and molten plastic was dripping. 
• Sainsbury’s spokeswoman Cheryl Kuczynski said the company looks at every detail of the range to improve safety. She added: “All of our children’s dress-up outfits meet both the mandatory European toy standard and the British nightwear flammability safety standard.”

ALDI WITCH COSTUME

• Witch costume, from Aldi, £3.99, The label included a warning to keep it away from fire and CE symbol.
• Result: This was alight quickly and by 30 seconds was spreading up the skirt. By 90 seconds it was completely destroyed. Worst performing of those tested.
• A spokesman for Aldi said: “We are surprised to hear the results of this test. The safety of customers is of paramount importance to Aldi. 
  “All of our children’s fancy dress costumes, including our Halloween outfits, meet the rigorous British nightwear flammability safety standards. This enhanced safety standard is in addition to the mandatory requirements set out by the Toy Safety directive.”

BOSWELLS BRIDE COSTUME

• Dearly departed bride costume, sold in Boswells, Oxford, for £6.99. The label included a warning to keep it away from fire and CE symbol.
• Result: The skirt failed to catch fire in the first 30 seconds and a second attempt also failed. Switching the lighter to the netting, it caught alight but was slow burning.  At two minutes the flame was burning slowly and had not spread very fast. 
• Store manager Frank Smith, said: “Our buyer hand picks our range of toys and games, including our range of dressing-up outfits.
  "We source our range from a local supplier, which is one of the biggest manufacturers of partyware in the world. 
  “They assure us that the products currently supplied fully comply with the current legislation.”

CLAIRE'S PURPLE AND BLACK CAPE

•  Purple and black cape, sold by Claire’s for £12, The label included a warning to keep it away from fire and CE symbol.
• Result: Once alight the flame started to spread quickly moving upwards. By 90 seconds the flames had spread to the collar and was starting to spread to the rest of the cape. By two minutes it was mostly alight and disintegrating.
• The Oxford Mail contacted Claire’s PR team for a comment but did not receive a response in time. 

H&M VAMPIRE COSTUME

• Vampire set, sold by H&M for £14.99, label included CE symbol.
• Result: This costume was difficult to light and after 60 seconds only a small area was alight. By two minutes the flame was starting to go out. This was the best performing costume.