Battery warning after bin lorry catches fire

A bin lorry in Derbyshire burst into flames after the battery in a discarded laptop caught on fire.

A crew member spotted flames in the rear of the truck as it collected rubbish in Grangewood, Netherseal, at about 09:50 BST on Thursday.

Firefighters from Swadlincote wearing breathing equipment used a hose reel jet to put out the fire, the fire service said.

South Derbyshire District Council has appealed to residents not to throw anything containing lithium batteries into their black bins.

A council spokesperson said: "Luckily one of our loaders spotted the flames early and so no members of our crew were injured.

"Can we ask that you never dispose of anything containing a lithium battery in the general waste."

A number of bin collections were missed as a result of the fire.

Residents in Netherseal as well as Swadlincote, Overseal, Lullington, Rosliston, Coton-in-the-Elms and Drakelow should leave their bins on the kerbside to be collected.

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