People have been warned not to put batteries in their waste bins after rubbish was spotted smouldering in the back of a refuse lorry.

The Canterbury City Council (CCC) bin crew used a fire extinguisher to prevent the blaze from developing while emptying bins in Glenside, Whitstable, on Tuesday.

The near-miss incident was caused by lithium-ion batteries left in a cardboard box, which can cause fires once damaged and the chemicals inside are released.

Cabinet member for council services, culture and heritage, Cllr Charlotte Cornell, praised the quick-thinking crew for their actions.

She said: “It’s a massive well done from me to the crew for spotting the danger and dealing with it in such a cool and calm manner.

“But they shouldn’t have to. Everyone needs to dispose of batteries properly – they cannot go in your normal bin.

“By being a little bit lazy, some residents are putting the lives of crews at risk, risk diverting firefighters from other emergencies, could be responsible for the release of harmful chemicals and, quite frankly, could disrupt other people’s collections and destroy expensive equipment.”

David Maidman, managing director for CCC’s main contractor, Canenco, added: “There are some simple things we can all do to limit the damage caused by batteries.

“Including removing batteries from products to recycle them separately, using rechargeable batteries and selling or donating working battery-powered electronic items instead of throwing them away.”

Last year, an exploding car battery caused a dust cart in Canterbury to burst into flames.

It was the second incident in a week, and fire crews had to cut the roof off the bin lorry to extinguish the blaze.