FIRE protection experts are urging people in the region to check if they have a smoke alarm in the home, and to ensure that any fitted are in working order.

Research commissioned by battery manufacturer Rayovac for Fire Safety Week, which starts tomorrow, reveals that 84 per cent of homes in the Tyne Tees region claim to have a smoke alarm.

However, 18 per cent of those people admit to taking the battery out of the alarm on purpose, other than to replace it with a fresh one.

And 58 per cent who remove the battery do so to stop the alarm going off while they are cooking.

Peter Cowland, fire safety coordinator at the Fire Protection Association, said: "With 643 deaths and more than 18,000 injured as a result of fires in the latest year for which fire statistics are available, households are still taking immense risks."

The association and Rayovac are urging people to: ensure they have a working smoke alarm; test batteries on a monthly basis, work out a simple escape route from their home and organise for the whole household to practise using it.

A suitable meeting point should be established outside to ensure everyone can be accounted for.