Durham County Council’s refuse collection vehicles have been hit by a total of 12 fires since 2019/20.

In addition, since the beginning of April three fires have broken out in the council’s waste transfer stations.

Cllr Mark Wilkes, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and climate change, said the fires were caused by people putting vapes and batteries in their rubbish or recycling bins.

‘Where they do this and the vapes and batteries inadvertently end up in the bin lorry, they can get crushed,’ he explained.

‘This can cause batteries, including those inside the vapes, to overheat and, in some cases, leak lithium which is highly flammable.’

He added: ‘Thankfully we haven't seen any injuries to our bin crews to date, but there is clearly the potential for our staff to be at risk if further fires occur.’

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