UP TO one million defective tumble dryers are potential fire hazards in British homes due to manufacturer Whirlpool's 'woeful' response to the discovery of a defect, a parliamentary report has found.

The House of Commons Business Committee demanded 'urgent action' from the company to resolve a problem that has led to at least 750 fires since 2004.

The cross-party committee also called on the Government to consider establishing a single National Product Safety Agency, amid fears that cuts have undermined the effectiveness of local trading standards agencies.

The committee's inquiry into risks from faulty electrical goods was triggered by last year's Grenfell Tower tragedy, when 71 people died in a fire thought to have been started by a faulty Hotpoint fridge-freezer.

It found that the number of fires involving faulty electrical appliances in England has remained constant at between 4,300 and 5,000 a year.

In 2015/16 alone, 676 fires in England were caused by tumble dryers, leading to a total of 46 injuries and fatalities.

Whirlpool alerted authorities in 2015 that fires could be caused by fluff catching on a heating element in dryers marketed under its Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda and Proline brands.

The Commons committee branded Whirlpool's response to the defect "inadequate", after hearing that only around 50 per cent of an estimated 5.3 million affected dryers have received the necessary modification.

Committee chair Rachel Reeves said: "Whirlpool's woeful response to the defect in its tumble dryers has caused huge worry to people with these appliances in their homes.

"Their delayed and dismissive response to correcting these defects has been inadequate and we call on Whirlpool to resolve issues urgently."

But the company insisted that its ongoing campaign had achieved a resolution rate more than three times the industry average for a product recall, with 1.7 million machines modified and 99.9 per cent of registered customers' issues resolved.

In a statement the company said: "After two years of extensive measures to raise awareness to this campaign - including directly contacting four million owners of these appliances - the number of consumers coming forward has fallen sharply.

"We continue to urge consumers to contact us immediately if they believe they still own an affected appliance.

"We can assure consumers that they if they contact us now, they can receive a resolution within one week."