Council backs e-scooter batteries safety call

The batteries have caused 76 fires in Lancashire in the last four years, the council hears

A council has backed a drive to tackle the danger of lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes and e-scooters after a number of fires in the surrounding area.

Hyndburn Council was told the batteries had caused 76 fires in Lancashire since 2020, including a large blaze in Accrington in May 2023.

The authority unanimously voted to support the charity Electrical Safety First's (ESF) campaign on the issue.

The council's Labour leader Munsif Dad said in a report that fires caused by lithium-ion batteries had "multiplied fourfold since 2020, resulting in deaths, hospitalisations, homelessness and staggering financial losses".

Mr Dad said the batteries stored "a significant amount of energy in a very small space" and were "much more powerful than other types".

"In Lancashire, there has been a year-on-year rise in lithium-ion battery related fires in the last three years, and three quarters of them involved a charger," he said.

He said batteries could "fail catastrophically" or explode and "lead to a rapidly-developing fire".

He said there were 14 fires in 2020/21, 27 in 2021/22 and 35 in 2022/23.

He added that the "safe disposal" of lithium-ion batteries was "also a key issue, as batteries thrown in household rubbish bins have been linked to an increase in waste fires".

The council also voted to back Lord Don Foster's Safety of Electric-Powered Micro-Mobility Vehicles and Lithium Batteries Bill.

ESF has previously said that there was "growing concern over the rise in fatalities, injuries and devastating fires from electric bikes and electric scooters".