Bin lorry fire 'started by discarded vape battery'

A serious fire in a refuse lorry in Exeter was caused by an exploding vape battery, a council has said.

The fire, which caused extensive damage to the vehicle, became so hot that it melted the metal walls of the waste compartment.

Ruth Williams, from Exeter City Council, said: "This all happened because someone threw away their electronic vape without thinking.

"Waste batteries are a known fire risk and one careless act has caused major traffic disruption and at least £25,000 worth of vehicle damage."

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service had to close the road to tackle the blaze.

The fire crew and city councillors said they wanted to remind people to properly dispose of their vapes.

Waste recycling manager Craig Daysh said people putting vapes in normal bins was "a huge risk, to the refuse staff themselves, to the public and the exponential damage to the vehicles as well".

The city council said: "Anything containing a battery - especially a lithium-ion battery - must be disposed of at a legitimate waste electrical recycling collection point.

"Retailers of electrical goods must provide these as part of Extended Producer Responsibility."

People can put their postcode in the Recycle Your Electricals website to find local drop-off points to recycle or donate electrical goods.

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