A woman was left stunned when her brand-new glass table spontaneously shattered in the middle of night.

Elizabeth Lawler, 50 had only owned the table for six days when it suddenly exploded at around 3am last month.

The table, purchased from Wayfair, was found shattered into small pieces across the floor, though nothing was placed on it other than a glass of water.

Elizabeth, an entrepreneur from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, said: "I thought my son was in the kitchen and he slammed a cabinet door or something."

"But when I came downstairs, I saw the table had exploded not just down but outward. "

"It was like it had been pulled apart."

Elizabeth baffled by the incident took to social media to share her experience, which sparked widespread theories from engineers and glass experts.

Elizabeth said: "Somebody pointed out the table was glued to a wooden base and as the wood expanded with heat, it popped the glass."

Others suggested flaws in the tempered glass known for shattering into small squares when damaged.

Despite the ordeal, Wayfair replaced the tabletop within days.

She said: "Their customer service was amazing - 20 out of 10. "

"But I left the box sitting for weeks because I was too scared to install it."