'It was like a bomb went off' - Edinburgh family's fury over washing machine blast that destroyed kitchen

Leigh Gregson-Davies told how the walls of her house shook after the impact of the blast from her washing machine

Leigh Gregson-Davies told how the blast from the Indesit “shook the walls” of her home in Colinton, sparking a mini indoor flood from a burst pipe and wrecking cabinets.

Leigh, 32, originally complained to Argos after purchasing the machine from the retailer in April, but was advised instead to contact manufacturers Whirlpool.

However, Leigh claims the white goods manufacturer has left them in the dark - despite an engineer informing her a similar fault had been reported with the same model.

They initially assured Leigh the issue would be resolved with a replacement machine, but the company has since refused to respond to any of her complaints, forcing the family of four to use a relative’s washing facilities in the meantime.

Leigh recalled: “I was sitting in the living room with my partner when we just heard this bang, it was like a bomb went off, the walls were shaking and everything.”

“I went into the kitchen and there was just devastation everywhere, the machine hit the fridge so hard it dented the wall.

“The water damage caused by the machine has spread into the hall and cupboard. All the flooring is lifting up. It’s a disgrace that we are having to live like this.”

Earlier this year, Whirlpool issued an urgent recall notice for up to half a million tumble dryers made between 2004 and 2015 over fears a fault with the mechanism could put them at risk of catching fire.

Leigh added: “We are still in the house, but we are having to go back and forward to our inlaws to use the washing machine.”

“We have had no compensation, no offers or date to actually come and replace it, we are just at our wits’ end at this stage.”

Argos declined to comment, stating the matter had been passed on to Whirlpool.

As spokesperson for the appliance giant - which owns successful domestic brands including Hotpoint, as well as Indesit - confirmed they are investigating Leigh’s claims, adding: "We understand that this is a difficult time for Ms Gregson-Davies and her family."

"Our customers’ safety is our number one priority which is why we take every incident report extremely seriously. As you can understand, we are unable to comment on individual cases."