A BIN lorry burst into flames after someone left a bag of household batteries in their rubbish.

The city council is reminding residents not to dispose of old, unwanted or dead batteries in their general waste or recycling after one of its lorries caught fire this week.

Some of the batteries exploded setting other waste on fire.

The lorry had to tip the whole of its contents onto the road for the fire service to extinguish.

Councillor Amy Heley, chairwoman of the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said: “Thankfully no one was injured, but the situation could have been far worse for the driver and crew, and potentially passers-by.

“The incident shows that batteries thrown into ordinary bins, household waste or with other recycling are extremely dangerous.

“They can easily get squashed, compacted, punctured, shredded or soaked in liquids. When this happens, they can ignite, resulting in fires that endanger lives, cause expensive damage and disrupt waste services.

“Damaged batteries are also dangerous as they contain chemicals and materials that can harm the environment if they aren’t recycled responsibly.”

Brighton and Hove City Council does not collect batteries.

Instead, they should be taken to the city's Household Waste Recycling Sites or dropped off at one of the many battery recycling points throughout the city, including most local supermarkets.

You can also find your nearest recycling location at recyclenow.com by entering your postcode, town or city.

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