"Safety Socket Covers" are DANGEROUS!

The power sockets we use in the UK were first introduced in 1947. One of the most important considerations in their design was that they must prevent children poking things into the live connections. For that reason they have always been fitted with internal shutters which automatically cover the live contacts when there is no plug in the socket. They are the subject of Government regulation to ensure that they are safe.

Plug-in socket covers which claim to "Prevent little children inserting their fingers or objects into sockets" are:

Completely unnecessary.

Unregulated.

Potentially dangerous.

The moment you insert a socket cover into a socket you are replacing the fully tested insulation properties of the internal shutters with something which is untested and unregulated, why would you want to take that risk?

All plug-in covers provide the perfect tool to disable the built in shutters, it is well established that small children are better at removing socket covers than their parents, if they then put them back in upside down they will leave the socket completely unprotected!

But worse, the most most popular types on the market, far from preventing children from poking things into the live connection, make it possible to do so!

A group of Electrical Engineers, Doctors and Child Care Specialists have established a campaign to bring these dangers to wider attention, and to seek a complete ban on their sale. One result of the campaign is that Ofsted no longer require nurseries and child-minders to use socket covers.

Please visit the campaign website at FatallyFlawed to learn more and watch a video on the subject.