A woman suffered burns after her Aldi candle exploded causing shattered glass to hurtle into her bath.

The Wycombe Marsh resident was enjoying a relaxing bath on Wednesday, November 8, when she was hurt by sharp, hot fragments from what she identified as the discount chain’s Hotel Collection number 1 candle.

Emma Milbourn said: "I was shocked and confused when the candle exploded as it was next to me so just heard the large bang and felt sharp hot objects hitting me.

"I didn’t want to move at first but when I did I realised it was the glass candle, I was horrified to realise I was now sat in a bath full of glass.

"One minute I'm having a calming bath, the next I'm hit by something sharp and hot.

"It didn't take long to realise my Aldi candle had exploded.

"The bath soon filled with broken glass."

Bucks Free Press:

Nursing minor burns to her chest, Ms Milbourn was horrified to conceive the potential danger she dodged.

"The large shards of glass that flew off were terrifying, she said.

"If they had hit my eye which was very close to the candle I am sure I would have been blinded."

The 44-year-old hairdresser, who is currently on crutches following surgery, had not been able to enjoy a bath for three weeks.

When she was finally able to, Emma was covered in glass and had to exit the bath without placing weight on her leg.

She said: "It was also the first time I was allowed a bath for 3 weeks since my operation, I had been looking forward to a relaxing bath with a relaxing candle, so to now be covered in glass and needing to get out without being cut and without putting weight on my leg was going to be an interesting task."

According to the resident, there have been multiple reports of Aldi's candles exploding, yet they remain on the shop shelves.

Priced at £3.49, the lime, basil, and mandarin candle in question has a strikingly similar track record.

Ms Milbourn contacted Aldi immediately after the incident.

In response to her complaint, Aldi initially offered her a goodwill payment of £5.

When she refused, they initiated an internal investigation promising resolution but denied providing an outcome. They proposed an increased goodwill amount of £13.98, which was also declined by Ms Milbourn.

"I'm not after compensation," she clarified.

"I just want Aldi to retract a clearly hazardous product from their shelves.

"I believe customer safety should be worth more than any profit."

Contrarily, an Aldi spokesperson said, "We are sorry to hear about Ms Milbourn’s experience with this product.

"Incidents like this are extremely rare but can happen if the product is not used according to the safety instructions provided.”

Earlier this year, the supermarket called on shoppers to follow safety instructions provided when using the scented candle range.

A spate of similar incidents

In October 2020, Emily Redfearn posted images on Twitter of her Aldi Coconut Noir Candle in pieces after it went up in flames and shattered.

In the tweet she wrote, “Hey @AldiUK , we’ve just had one of your candles set fire and explode in our bedroom. We lit the candle around 4 hours before this. Thankfully we both noticed it, but how has this passed safety tests? The outcome could have been a lot worse than the burn marks on our furniture.”

In December 2019, a mother said that her son was “nearly blinded” when the supermarket candle exploded glass across the room.

Emm Landers told the Liverpool Echo that the Aldi Number 3 candle was placed on the bottom of their fireplace before it became “like a bomb.”

In July this year, Maisie Sutton shared a similar experience with the Aldi Summer Sands candle, warning fellow Twitter users not to buy the candle after it had exploded after being lit for only 10 minutes.