RESIDENTS have been urged not to put batteries or items containing them in the bin after a fire broke out during a refuse collection.

Firefighters were called to a fire involving a lithium ion battery pack in Firs Glen Road, Verwood.

The fire, which was reported at 8.17am on Thursday, November 14, involved a small amount of waste.

Firefighters from Verwood attended and used one hose reel jet to damp down the rubbish which had been tipped into the road from the collection vehicle.

The item was believed to have been a battery from a laptop.

Posting on social media following the incident, Dorset Council Waste Services said: “Please do not put batteries, or items that could contain batteries (even if they're flat), in ANY kind of waste bin. Once crushed in our collection vehicles they can catch fire and, surrounded by all the dry paper, cardboard, and plastic, even the smallest flame can become a huge problem.

“Electrical devices can be taken to any of our household recycling centres and dropped off free of charge.

"Regular batteries can be recycled at the kerbside using a battery bag (or clear plastic bag, as long as they're kept separate) or at our recycling centres, or taken to a battery recycling point at hundreds of locations across the county.”