Boy, 11, lucky to be alive after charging tablet burns hole through his bed

The boy woke up in the morning in a room covered "in a layer of black soot". Photo / Facebook

An 11-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after his charging Samsung tablet burned a hole through his mattress while he slept.

The fire department was called to his home, in Staffordshire, England, on Thursday morning.

The tablet had been plugged in to charge around 9pm the night before.

According to the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Services, the device became hot and burned "through bedding and the mattress down to the springs".

The boy woke up to a room "covered in a layer of black soot".

"Fortunately for the family, it did not develop into a full fire but had smouldered throughout the night," the fire department said.

Firefighter Brad Robins said the family was "greatly shocked".

"It serves as a stark reminder not to leave items charging on materials that could catch fire when hot," he said.