Urgent warning over ‘deadly’ carbon monoxide alarms sold on the likes of Amazon and eBay for as little as £5 as Which? shames 5 products – so do YOU have one of them?

They are the devices that British families trust to alarm them of danger.

But an urgent warning has been issued over ‘deadly’ carbon monoxide (CO) alarms that are being flogged online for as little as £5.

Consumer champion Which? has revealed that five — listed on the likes of eBay, AliExpress and Amazon — fail to always go off when exposed to the poisonous gas.

Breathing in high amounts of the colourless, tasteless and odourless gas can cause muscle pain, personality changes and death.

The five ‘unsafe’ CO alarm models labelled ‘Don’t Buy’ products by Which? are all unbranded and made in China.

This red coloured carbon monoxide (CO) alarm, which has a screen claiming to display the levels of  (CO), failed 17 tests out of a possible 28

This basic squared white CO device also failed 15 test out of a total of 28

One of the models, a battery-operated alarm, was first pointed out to eBay by Which? seven years ago.

Which? found 88 sellers listing the same alarm on AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish.

Another unbranded CO and smoke alarm that failed to trigger 22 times was listed by 22 eBay sellers.

Across the five alarms, Which? found 46 listings on AliExpress, 42 on eBay, 41 on Wish and 20 on Amazon.

A separate unbranded alarm failed to sound in 15 carbon monoxide detection tests.

It was not loud enough to pass Which? tests either and was available for sale from six sellers on Amazon and eBay.

This year’s tests found the model failed to respond to carbon monoxide ten times out of 28 tests and was too quiet when it did sound.

This CO alarm which states it was calibrated in 2017 failed 15 tests out of a possible 28

This circular carbon monoxide alarm failed 22 times out of 28

This battery operated alarm packaged in a baby blue carboard box failed 10 out of a possible 28 tests

Which? found 149 listings for unsafe CO alarms across four online marketplaces – they have now been removed.

Ebay showed that at least 1,311 dangerous alarms had been bought by desperate families trying to keep their homes safe for a cheap buck.

Avril Samuel, whose daughter Katie Haines died of CO poisoning at home, set up the a memorial trust in her name in 2010 to spread awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

She said: ‘We have previously highlighted concerns about some carbon monoxide alarms being sold online, many coming from China, and campaigned vigorously about the need to purchase CO alarms only from reputable manufacturers and retailers.

‘If the alarm is not to standard, this defence is negated and could have fatal results.’

Carbon monoxide poisoning has caused more than 200 accidental deaths in England and Wales in the last decade, according to Which?

The consumer champion is now calling on the government ‘to establish new regulations that put consumer safety first and enable tough enforcement action against online marketplaces that break the rules’.