The hidden dangers of charging your phone under your pillow

Plugging your phone in to charge during the night while you sleep is an efficient way of making sure you have enough battery when you wake up the next morning, and we bet we're not the only ones doing it.

But where do you leave it while it charges? It can be tempting to leave it right next to you, which can be especially handy if you're a snoozer as it saves you reaching out to postpone the annoying alarm.

However, pictures posted by the New York Police department have show exactly why you shouldn't leave your phone charging underneath your pillow.

The four pictures shared by the verified account show burn marks in beds and pillows, and a destroyed Samsung phone.

'Don't put your cellphone under a pillow when sleeping or when charging your device. Please share this tip and b safe!', they wrote on the tweet, urging people to pass on the important safety warning.

According to a spokesperson, the images are not from just one incident, but rather a general warning.

At least two of the pictures seem to be from an incident that happened in the UK in November, when a father from Leicester noticed his young son's bedroom was on fire as result of his phone being charged underneath a pillow.

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Fire brigades have been multiplying warnings for people not to charge their phones underneath their pillows, as the dangerous practice has been causing several fire incidents in the last few months.

The incident is particular common amongst teenagers, who tend to fall asleep with their phones on their beds.

Ariel Tolfree, a 13 year old from Texas, is one of teenagers who had a lucky escape after her phone caught on fire during the night.

Her father said at the time that she'd left her phone charging by her bed and not under the pillow, but it's likely that it slipped during the night.

Sandwiching a charging phone between a pillow and a mattress can lead to batteries overheating, which can potentially catch fire or explode.

The official advice is to leave all electronics on a hard surface where they can be well ventilated while charging, and therefore prevent overheating.

Make sure you follow this advice and more importantly, let you children know if they have mobile phones!