After 10 months she was reduced to feeding son Jack, 10, and daughter Jessie-Leigh, 11, takeaways and making snacks on a camping stove.

Sylvia's prized Hotpoint, which she bought from Powerzone in Ilford, Essex, had started to billow smoke when she was cooking the Sunday roast. Although the appliance was still under guarantee, disputes over repairs and refunds broke out, resulting in a four-week stalemate. Sylvia, from Barking, then asked Crusader to contact Hotpoint, which responded quickly and offered a new replacement.

"When I saw the original cooker's heating element had melted, it made me very wary, especially because I've a young family. Then there was the nightmare of the camping rings and the takeaways. I am very glad we are back to normal healthy eating, " says Sylvia, who also received £50 from the company to cover the new installation costs.