Hidden inside a viral power bank was a ‘defective’ battery that could catch fire, an expert has told Metro.

The Haribo Power Bank 20000mAh, which has a gummy-bear themed built-in USB-C cord, became popular over the summer with backpackers.

The charger, licensed by the German sweet company but made by Chinese manufacturer HK DC Global, was sold on Amazon for about £20.

But an X-ray company told Metro that they were shocked by what they saw when peaking inside its lithium-ion battery (no, it’s not made of gummy).

Alex Hao, technical marketing manager at Lumafield, said that, for the most part, if a portable charger is cheap, ‘it’s too good to be true’.

That’s why his team cracked open the portable charger using their industrial X-ray CT scanner. Hao said: ‘It appears the batteries insid

See Full Page