Trading standards chiefs have issued a warning about cheap imitations of a Back to the Future-style gadget set to be one of this year's must-have Christmas presents.

Dangerous replicas of "hoverboards" - popularised by Marty McFly in the 1980s film starring Michael J Fox - are selling for hundreds of pounds cheaper in some places.

Normally retailing at between £300 and £600 from reputable stores, British trading standards officials have seen them advertised for £100 or less on auction sites and social media accounts.

Glasgow Times:

But the cheaper, mainly Chinese replicas have a fuse-less plug that will not fit into a socket properly, Kent County Council's (KCC) Trading Standards department said.

They are also packed with batteries that can overheat and explode. And they come with some puzzling instructions for users.

Glasgow Times:

The advice includes the bizarre line: "Get off the bus, get off before you stop intelligent drifting scooter balance state. one foot down. the other foot in the left drifting scooter again."

There have already been examples of damage caused. In Deal, Kent, one "hoverboard" bought online caught alight while charging, causing some £25,000 worth of damage to the owner's kitchen.

KCC Trading Standards operations manager James Whiddett said: "The first thing consumers should do is check the packaging. They won't have manufacturer details on them.

"Plugs won't go into your socket properly and without a fuse, they're very dangerous. The product itself should have a CE mark on it and the ones we have found have nothing on them at all.

"These things have batteries in them that can overheat and catch fire and we've seen that happen in the county already. Remember the golden rule, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

BBC Watchdog raised concerns last month about the plugs being supplied with some hoverboards that did not appear to be a standard British plug.