WHIRLPOOL is recalling 800,000 tumble dryers following government intervention after four years of pressure from consumer groups.

The dryers, which pose a fire-risk, were originally modified in 2015, but now a full blown recall programme has launched where customers will be offered refunds.

Whirlpool, which owns the Hotpoint brands, says it has identified a potential concern with two types of tumble dryers manufactured between April 2004 and September 2015.

So far, it has modified 1.7million machines out of the 5.3million units manufactured between April 2004 and September 2015.

Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline are all the brands that have been affected.

Non-affected machines will have a green sticker on the inside of the dryer door or reverse of the machine.

If your machine doesn't have a green sticker, you need to check if it's faulty. You can do this by locating the serial code and model number (found on the back of the dryer or on the back of the dryer door) and entering it onto the online checkers at safety.hotpoint.eu or safety.indesit.eu or safety-swan.eu .

Should your tumble dryer be affected you’ll get the choice either to have it replaced free of charge, to opt for an upgrade from £59, to have it fixed by an engineer or to choose a refund, which will be dependent on the age of the tumble dryer.

Jeff Noel, vice president of Whirlpool, said: “People’s safety is our top priority, which is why we are expanding this important campaign.

“We are committed to doing the right thing for our consumers and will continue to take every action possible to resolve this issue.

“The crucial message is please contact us immediately if you still own one of these tumble dryers and haven’t already had it modified or replaced by us.”

The fault is apparently caused by excess fluff coming into contact with the heating element.