Gateshead bin wagon fire forces crew to dump rubbish

Batteries can ignite and spark a fire, the council warned

A bin wagon had to dump its load in a back lane after a fire thought to have been caused by a used battery broke out.

Fire crews were called to the area behind West Street, Whickham, Gateshead, on Tuesday.

It was the second such incident to affect one of Gateshead Council's recycling vehicles in recent weeks.

The authority urged people not to put batteries into general waste or recycling bins.

Firefighters found a power tool battery with small batteries which they believe may have sparked paper and cardboard in the load.

Firefighters were called to extinguish the blaze

"Used batteries placed into general waste or recycling bins and mixed with paper, cardboard, plastic or other recyclable materials such as cardboard can pose a risk," a council spokesman said.

"These often-unspent batteries often have some remaining charge and are referred to as 'zombie batteries' as they can come back to life and pose a risk to waste facilities causing a danger to workers.

"Any batteries placed into general waste will likely be compacted or punctured during transportation to their final waste treatment facility or damaged during handling.

"When batteries are damaged they can become hot and ignite, potentially resulting in fire causing damage to premises and a risk to life."

Last month a fire in the back of a council recycling vehicle caused traffic delays on the A1 between the Metrocentre and Dunston as its crew was forced to dump the load and two lanes were closed while emergency services put out the blaze.