A family were forced to flee their home after a packet of hair dye spontaneously combusted.

Andrew and Amanda Hudson, were awoken about 4am today when smoke filled their bedroom.

After a frantic search, they discovered fumes coming from their wardrobe.

Mr Hudson, 41, of Hayling Rise, Worthing said the small chemical blaze had been caused by a two-year-old industrial hair product.

The self-employed businessman Mr Hudson, 41, said: “It was all very traumatic.

“My wife woke with a coughing fit, opened her eyes and just saw smoke everywhere.

“We had no idea where it was coming from and you couldn’t see anything.

“It was only when I opened the wardrobe door that I found the bag on top of the wardrobe.

“Because it wasn’t fire smoke the alarm didn’t detect it. We were just lucky my wife woke up when she did.”

Mr Hudson discarded the smoking bag, which had partly melted due to the heat, into the front garden.

He then alerted his children, aged 13 and ten, and his wife’s parents who were still in the house.

Fire crews arrived at the property shortly after.

Mr and Mrs Hudson were given oxygen therapy before paramedics took the couple to Worthing Hospital to be treated for minor breathing difficulties.

Mr Hudson said: “The fire service did a sterling job “They were adamant we received all the right treatment.

“I must thank all the emergency services for being extremely professional.”

Fire Investigation Officer Mark Hayter confirmed the product had accidentally ignited.

He said: “It is believed that it had not been touched or moved in approximately two years. There were no other ignition sources in the area and no other product involved.

"The packaging of the product was destroyed so unfortunately the storage directions were unreadable.

"We would urge people to always follow manufacturers instructions.

“In this case it seems the occupiers couldn't have done anything to prevent this from happening, but had a fortunate escape in what could have turned into a more serious Incident.

"We will be carrying out further investigations to find more details from the manufacturers on storage and disposal of the product."

Spontaneous combustion

Spontaneous combustion is the burning of an object without an external source of ignition.

Some of the more common materials are:

• Haystacks and unprocessed cotton due to heat produced by bacterial fermentation.

• Pistachio nuts, when stored in large quantities, are prone to self-heating and spontaneous combustion.

• People have also been reported as spontaneously combusting. However the phenomenon is not considered true spontaneous combustion, as it is largely attributed to the wick effect, whereby an external source of fire ignites nearby flammable materials and human fat.