Smouldering rubbish was dumped onto a busy road as firefighters battled a fire inside a bin lorry.

The fire service is reminding people not to throw their batteries and electrics away in household bins after a bin lorry caught fire in Littlehampton.

Two fire engines were sent to the scene in Terminus Road where they hosed down the smouldering rubbish, which was tipped out the back of the lorry.

The Argus: A fire engine at the sceneA fire engine at the scene (Image: Contributor)

A spokeswoman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said that when they arrived, they found the lorry "well alight".

Video captured from a nearby window shows the rubbish piled in the middle of the road, with a digger being used to sift through the mound of smoking waste to stop the blaze.

One waste worker could be seen with his hands on his head as the rubbish spilled out of the back of the truck.

Once the fire was extinguished, a digger was used to clear the rubbish from the road and put it into smaller waste bins.

Witness Roxanne Langer said: "The guys from the bin lorry and the fire crew did an amazing job controlling it and getting rid of the rubbish.

"It must have been around two hours and once they left it was like nothing had happened."

The road was closed while the incident was ongoing shortly after noon on Monday, with fire engines from Littlehampton and East Preston called to the scene.

The spokeswoman said firefighters were "wearing breathing apparatus" and used a "hose reel and thermal imaging camera to extinguish the fire.

"The fire was of accidental ignition and fortunately there were no casualties."

The Argus: Firefighters at the sceneFirefighters at the scene (Image: Roxanne Langer)

Following the incident, the fire service has warned people that batteries "contain hazardous metals and chemicals" which can become damaged in the waste collection process.

They are campaigning to reduce the number of batteries and electrical items thrown away in a bid to prevent unintentional fires from starting.

The spokeswoman added: "It can cause paper, plastis and other materials to catch alight.

"Electrical items must always be disposed of at a recycling centre."