I put a Pop Tart in the toaster and it went up in flames a metre high - it almost destroyed my kitchen

Karen Bruce, a councillor in Ardsley and Robin Hood in Leeds, said she had been preparing the sugary breakfast treat for her daughter when she briefly left the room. To her shock, she said she returned to find the appliance ablaze on her kitchen countertop.

"I saw flames that were a metre high and I screamed," she said. “My first reaction was to unplug the toaster and shout for help. It all happened in a split second.

"I wasn't out of the kitchen for long, but the flames were really high. It was surreal, really."

Coun Bruce said that the resulting damage could have been much worse if it was not for the actions of her quick-thinking husband, who used a fire blanket to extinguish the flames.

She said: "The cupboards above were completely singed. It could have escalated and taken hold if we hadn't stopped it when we did. It could have destroyed the kitchen, or even the whole house."

The scorched remains of the toaster were shown in a video Coun Bruce posted online to promote fire safety. It appeared blackened with the plastic casing melted and peeling away.

Coincidentally, Coun Bruce had only joined the West Yorkshire Fire Authority a few weeks earlier. The independent body is responsible for providing a fire service that meets the needs of the region. It is made up of councillors from across West Yorkshire.

She is planning to share her experience at the next meeting of the Community Safety Committee.

“Everybody can learn from it,” she said. “It's a reminder to make sure that your fire alarm is working. Apparently, you’re seven times more likely to die if you haven't got a working smoke alarm when there’s a fire."

Pop Tarts have been available in the UK since the early 1990s, with flavours including ‘Chocotastic’ and ‘Strawberry Sensation’. The pastries, that can be enjoyed hot or cold, can be found in most supermarkets.

Having picked up a marshmallow variation of the treat, Karen said she’d be reluctant to try the toaster snacks again.

"It's not something I've bought much in the past,” she said, “but I definitely won't be buying them again."

A spokesperson for Kellanova, which makes Pop Tarts, said: “We were really sorry to hear what happened.

“Pop Tarts was launched in 1964 and since then our food experts have developed specific guidance on how to prepare the food so that it is safe to eat.

“We pop the cooking instructions on the side of the pack and always recommend someone toasts the food on the lowest setting and let cool before eating so that Pop Tarts can be enjoyed in the way we intended.”