Bit of a frightener

Man's pocket explodes

BBC Story

I recall a few years ago in Tesco that the battery recycling bin was giving off a large amount of smoke. I reported it to the staff who gingerly took it outside and tipped the contents out. There was a load of sputtering and sparking happening but the key thing, I think, was that someone had tipped a bottle of soft drink into the bin which caused the remaining power in the batteries to short circuit and overheat.

Well - they do say there is no smoke(ing) without fire......

I like how it says in the article ....
"There does not need to be a fault with the battery, the problem is the incorrect storage of the batteries."

They shouldn't be stored alongside metal objects?

Reminds me of my old Sony Vaio computer (which I thought was crap for the price) ... the keyboard was hot enough to fry eggs until I took out the innards and used it on mains.