Moment bin men narrowly avoid injury after their lorry explodes while they were emptying rubbish in it

This is the moment two bin men narrowly avoided being injured when a lorry exploded as they emptied rubbish in to it. 

CCTV footage shows refuse workers going about their normal collection rounds in Barnet, north London. 

One worker is seen loading a bin in to the back of the lorry. He walks round the side after detaching a bin when seconds later there is a huge explosion. 

A big plume of smoke fills the screen in the jawdropping footage as debris and rubbish are sent flying through the air. 

As the smoke clears a wheelie bin can be seen lying discarded on the ground with rubbish scattered all over the road and the pavement. 

CCTV footage shows refuse workers seemingly going about their normal collection rounds in Barnet, north London

One worker is seen loading a bin in to the back of the lorry. He walks round the side after detaching a bin when seconds later there is a huge explosion

A big plume of smoke fills the screen in the jawdropping footage as debris and rubbish is flung through the air

As the smoke clears a wheelie bin can be seen lying discarded on the ground with rubbish scattered all over the road and the pavement

The footage was released by Barnet Council who said the explosion was caused by a combustible item or items such as gas canisters or bottles, batteries or aerosol cans being wrongly placed into a residential bin.

When crushed by the lorry’s impactor, the item caused the bin and other debris to be fired out into the street.

Commenting on the video, Cllr Alan Schneiderman, the Barnet Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, admitted the refuse workers had been lucky to emerge unscathed.

‘The video is incredibly shocking, and we’re relieved that the crew members escaped unharmed,’ he said.

‘I hope this helps people to understand how important it is to properly recycle items such as gas canisters and bottles, batteries and aerosols, as on another day we might not have been so lucky.’

This incident follows another earlier this year in which a set of lithium batteries caught light and burned a hole in the side of a bin lorry.

Combustible waste should never be placed in waste bins, and should instead be recycled at recycling centres, the council said.