Dublin Fire Brigade issue alarming warning about old mobile phones

Hands up if there's a drawer in your house filled with old Samsungs and Nokias that only ever see the light of day when you have a festival to go to or an iPhone emergency to fix?

Yeah, us too.

And while keeping your old phone on hand might seem like a clever back-up plan, a new warning from the Dublin Fire Brigade might just change your mind.

Got a new phone for #Christmas  Maybe recycle or pass on your old phone? This phone was recharged after being left idle & you can see the battery has begun to swell. If a phone hasn't been used in a while, it might be better to dispose of it safely pic.twitter.com/WPubsQtcAe

— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) January 3, 2018

The tweet reads: “Got a new phone for #Christmas ? Maybe recycle or pass on your old phone? This phone was recharged after being left idle & you can see the battery has begun to swell. If a phone hasn't been used in a while, it might be better to dispose of it safely.”

The emergency service has advised anyone who received a new phone for Christmas to ensure they dispose of the old one correctly as failure to do so could result in the battery bursting and exploding.

The terrifying warning was accompanied by a series of images showing a phone battery that had swelled to almost twice it's original size, posing a major threat to anyone who may be handling it.

Excuse while we clear out our blockia grave yards…