The risk of fires on board planes sparked by lithium-ion batteries is growing … and here is a bizarre way one started.

For the fire began in a hand-held card machine used by cabin crew when selling food and duty free items.

The plane from Canada was flying over London on its way to Paris when smoke started to pour from the device.

The crew managed to deal with the emergency and the plane landed safely. The cause of the fire is now being investigated.

The device is powered by lithium-ion batteries which have been previously known to overheat in such devices.

* More than 50 airline companies across the world – including some of the biggest and best-known - now carry AvSax fire containment bags to deal with fires in personal electronic devices caused by lithium-ion batteries that power them.

The bag – which won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise this year - has been used 27 times to deal with emergencies since the start of 2017.