A coroner has warned that batteries sold on online market places for e-bike conversions pose a significant and growing risk after a man died in a fire thought to be linked to one left charging.
Mohsin Janjua, 28, died after his converted e-bike caught alight while charging overnight at his Bradford home.
Martin Fleming, senior coroner for West Yorkshire Western, is asking the government to reassess the law on sales of lithium-ion batteries used to convert bikes into e-bikes.
Following an inquest into Mr Janjua's death, the coroner said it was "more likely than not that the fire was caused by a catastrophic failure" of the battery he had bought from a site on eBay.
Mr Janjua converted his bike using an electric motor in 2022, and replaced the motor with a 52-volt battery a week before the fatal fire in December 2023.
After his death, investigators made test purchases and found that the test-purchase battery and charger, thought to have emanated from China, did not conform to UK safety standards and regulations.
Although the battery found after the fire showed similarities with the test purchase, the extent of its damage prevented further identification.
The coroner said in a report to the government Office for Product Safety and Standards: “At the moment it is my understanding that online market places disclaim responsibility for the safety of third-party goods, so I ask that you give consideration to the appropriateness of regulations to make online marketplaces jointly responsible for ensuring the safety and legal compliances of products sold on their sites.”
It is the fifth such report on prevention of deaths surrounding lithium-ion batteries in electrically powered bikes and converted or modified devices.
Luke Osborne, technical director of charity Electrical Safety First said: “Substandard batteries sold freely via online marketplaces pose a life-threatening risk to the public.
“The fires that may result when these devices fail can be catastrophic, releasing toxic gases and reaching temperatures of over 600C.”
The government is planning a consultation on online marketplaces and dangerous goods sold on them.
The charity is calling for the introduction of third-party certification for e-bikes and their batteries, to reduce the risk of substandard devices being sold, and is also calling for stricter rules on conversion kits for e-bikes.
