A SAFETY campaign is being mounted to warn of the potential inflammable risks of children’s fancy dress costumes.

Runcorn MP Graham Evans is highlighting the dangers after Claudia Winkleman’s daughter was seriously burned last year.

Eight-year-old Mathilda burst into flames as she was trick or treating.

Her supermarket witch costume caught fire and she had to undergo plastic surgery.

Mr Evans, Conservative MP for Weaver Vale, said: “As a father myself I know that children love dressing up, particularly over the Halloween period, which is why I was shocked to hear about the horrific incident involving Claudia Winkleman’s daughter.”

Currently, the law classes fancy dress costumes as toys rather than clothes meaning that they undergo far less rigorous safety tests.

But Sainsbury’s and other supermarkets have introduced more stringent testing following a campaign by the host of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, Claudia Winkleman.

Mr Evans has organised a parliamentary awareness event on October 13 in Westminster to encourage MPs to highlight the risks.

Mr Evans added: “I’m delighted that the Business Secretary Sajid Javid has given funding for Trading Standards to conduct spot checks on hundreds of retailers to ensure that costumes meet safety standards.

“I also applaud Sainsbury’s and other supermarkets for introducing more stringent safety checks and would now call on others to follow suit.”

He has vowed to close the legal loophole so that all manufacturers have to comply to much more stringent safety tests.

Mr Evans said: “The key thing now is to spread the message far and wide to parents about these dangers and I hope that my awareness event will help to do that.”