Most children are likely to sleep through the sound of a standard smoke alarm because their sounds are the wrong frequencies, a study has warned.
Three quarters of youngsters were not woken up by an alarm in their home in an experiment by researchers and the fire service.
Watchdogs have now warned that manufacturers should be telling parents of the risks standard alarms pose in the event of a fire.
The University of Dundee study, in collaboration with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, carried out the experiment on 644 children.
It found children respond better to different tones and frequencies than in standard alarms.
For example, an alarm tested using a lower frequency sound combined with a voice recording woke more than 75 per cent of the children.
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