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October sunlight made my coat start smoking

Mariam Issimdar
News imageWendy Caley Wendy Caley sits at a kitchen table and looks at the camera. She is wearing a grey-speckled jumper and has short blond hair. On the wooden table is a shaving mirror. A wooden chair with a small burn mark is tucked under the table. Wendy Caley
Wendy Caley could not believe the October sunshine reflecting off a mirror on her table could burn her coat and chair

A woman warned others to be wary of leaving mirrors near windows, even in autumn, after her coat started smoking.

Wendy Caley, 73, from Trimley St Mary, Suffolk, left her jacket on a kitchen chair to dry but later noticed smoke coming from it at about 10:30 GMT on Sunday.

She took the coat, which "smelt of burning", to show her husband in the next room, and when she returned to the kitchen, discovered smoke coming from the chair.

Caley worked out that sunlight reflected from a shaving mirror had caused a scorch mark and a hole in the jacket.

Speaking about returning to the kitchen with her coat, Caley said: "I saw this bright light on the chair. I still didn't think too much of it, so I went over to it because I could see the smoke coming up again.

"I thought, I don't believe this; it's actually scorched my chair."

News imageWendy Caley A close-up of Wendy's damaged jacket which has a hole and scorch marks.Wendy Caley
Wendy Caley says she wants to warn others about leaving any glass or mirrors where the sun could catch it, causing a fire

While aware that glass and mirrors could reflect sunlight and cause fires, Caley said she would not have expected this to happen in October.

The weather forecast on Sunday morning showed the area to have a temperature of 13C (55F) with sunshine and strong winds.

"I'm glad we were here because you never know, that could have set the place on fire," she said.

In July, a quick-witted teenager in Norfolk managed to leave her house safely after light refracting through a glass snow globe on a windowsill caused a pencil case to catch fire.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service said the incident was an example of "how everyday household items can unexpectedly start a fire".

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