SOUTH Wales Fire and Rescue has issued a warning after responding to cases of exploding e-cigarettes.

Fire crews recently attended two separate fires where the batteries from an e-cigarette had exploded and travelled up to two metres across the room before igniting the carpet. The occupiers were close at hand and the small fires were quickly extinguished by on-site staff.

The service is warning users not to leave e-cigarettes unattended when charging.

Group manager Phil Pinches said: “Research has shown that a number of incidents have occurred across the UK in recent months.

“We encourage users to read the advice given on the safety leaflets provided with these products to reduce the risk of this happening.”