Fire service bosses are urging people to be careful with their electric scooters after one caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Crews from Burnley were sent to a house on Villiers Street in the town at 3.24am on Wednesday.

On arrival they found an eScooter, which was being stored in a downstairs cupboard, had burst into flames.

Acting watch manager, Andy Coulton said it was lucky the cupboard door was closed, otherwise the fire could have spread to the rest of the property.

He is now urging anyone with an eScooter to check the batteries, as initial investigations revealed the lithium iron battery had been damaged, which had likely caused the fire.

AWM Coulton said: "From our initial investigations it looks like the scooter had been broken for a while and hadn't been used for around a month, and then all of a sudden it's caught fire.

"It was difficult to ascertain how broken the scooter was but whatever happened, a month later it's burst into flames.

"There's a little known phenomenon called stranded energy, which happens when the battery is damaged and then the energy has no-where to go - it's like someone sitting in a room with pent up frustration, and then suddenly they blow.

"It wasn't a cheap scooter either, it was a relatively expensive brand."

AWM Coulton commended the owners of the house for keeping the cupboard door closed and said the damage was limited to the downstairs cloakroom.

He added: "Had the door been open it could have been a lot worse."

Fire crews were in attendance at the property for around an hour and paramedics were also called to the scene to treat someone for the effects of smoke inhalation.

AWM Coulton continued: "I just want to make people aware of the dangers of lithium iron batteries.

"If there's any damage, or anything is done to an eScooter which compromises these batteries, they can become a hazard.

"I would not recommend storing them inside, especially if they have been damaged."

Lancashire Telegraph: