A single mother who quit smoking was forced to flee her home with her two children after it was engulfed in flames sparked by her e-cigarette.

Keeley Cooper reportedly put the device on charge in her bedroom only to hear “an almighty bang” minutes later, with the resulting fire gutting her room and filling her flat with thick smoke.

The 22-year-old told the Birmingham Mail she had taken up e-cigarettes after quitting her 10-a-day conventional cigarette habit.

The quick-thinking mother managed to scoop up her sons, Ellis, aged five, and Regan, two, before calling the fire brigade on Wednesday.

All three escaped and are now staying in a B&B while the flat in Shard End in Birmingham is repaired.

She said: “I’d put the e-cigarette on charge next to my bed.

“It had only been charging for 40 minutes when there was an almighty bang and flames started coming out of it.

“The carpet was on fire.

“I thought I had put the flames out but then smoke began pouring from under the bed and I saw more flames.

“I tried to lift the bed but it was too heavy and the fire was getting worse. The only thing I could do was get me and the kids out.”

Ms Cooper had been using the E-Lites e-cigarettes for five weeks but had used her iPhone USB plug to link the charger to the power supply – contrary to the manufacturer’s advice.

In March, West Midlands Fire Service urged e-cigarette smokers to use only manufacturer-provided battery chargers with their devices after two such call-outs, including one in which a device’s lithium-ion battery exploded, firing the hot liquid across an office.

Steve Vincent, from the fire service, said: “People should always buy electrical items from a reputable and reliable source, and re-power devices using a charger supplied or recommended by the manufacturer.”