A MUM-of-three from Bolton has told how her son was left with cuts and was shaken up when a table ‘exploded’.

Susan Rothwell’s ‘Malibu’ glass-topped table ‘exploded’ last Thursday while her son was sitting in a chair next to it.

On Wednesday it was widely reported that tables sold by Argos had been exploding in the sunshine.

Mrs Rothwell said: “The glass spread across the garden and my son sustained small abrasions, and was obviously shook up as a result.

“I contacted Argos who responded immediately, admitting it was a known fault.”

In a statement about the problem of tables breaking, the retailer said the safety of its customers was ‘extremely important’ and the issue is being investigated.

Mrs Rothwell says she was disappointed with the way Argos handled the matter when she contacted them.

She said: “A lady contacted me from Argos on Wednesday and offered to refund me and said they would need to take the chairs and frame away.

“I explained that I really wanted to keep the chairs as we have been really happy with them since we purchased the set.

“The woman was rude and totally unapologetic and said that they’d give me £97 then. The set cost £320.”

Mrs Rothwell added: “I told the lady from Argos I was anxious as I also have two young daughters, as well as two dogs, who were covered in the shattered glass and continue to have to walk on the patio, and was worried they could have been hurt.

“She was totally lacking in sympathy or empathy and replied she would only deal with what actually did happen.”

An Argos spokesperson said: “We were sorry to hear about Mrs Rothwell’s table. We offered a replacement but she’s decided to keep her existing table set. Instead we’ve provided a gesture of goodwill.”

In a general statement issued on Wednesday, the company said: “We’d like to reassure customers that incidents like this are rare and all our products have to meet our high safety standards and pass extensive independent testing.”

It added that glass in these types of tables can break for a number of reasons, the most common being when the surface has been weakened by a knock, chip or scratch and then left in extreme hot or cold temperatures.

The glass is designed to shatter safely with no large shards, which could cause serious injury.

Despite being unable to find a suitable replacement set without glass in a similar price range, Mrs Rothwell is making the best of the situation.

She said: “We are a family of five and having spent the weekend looking at alternative garden sets, I have been unable to find a similar-sized set in the same price bracket that does not have a glass top and obviously I am too anxious to do that again. I have therefore bought a piece of wood to fit on the table top and plan to tile that so we can continue to use it as a family.

“As I have said, the refund won’t cover an alternative similar-sized table without a glass top.”