"Colin Wilson" o.uk wrote
in message ...
cut the plug off the new one, feed the flex through the hole then, and
fit a new plug.

The flex is too short to do that already (it barely reaches the top of
the fridge as it is...

Dispose of the cut-off plug carefully.

Nah, give it to the kids to play with :-p

I often see inappropriate instructions, almost all seem to be someone making
H&S up as they go along. This one falls into that category. Unless it's a
big, industrial, FO fridge even the startup current can't be that much.

Of course from their POV an extension lead means:
Unknown cable sizing
More connections
Possibly coiled cable
All of those could lead to problems.

I'm sure you already do but I'll say it anyway, When cutting off a plug
always remove the fuse.