Owner of iPhone that ‘EXPLODED’ during Eurostar journey claims it ‘could have been fatal’

A British tech fan has claimed his iPhone 5C "exploded" during a Eurostar journey, leaving him with burns and scratches.

Arthur Smith, 19, was returning from a dream holiday in Europe when his smartphone allegedly "blew up" in his pocket.

The teenager was on his way back from a motorbike tour of the continent and said it was lucky the phone didn't explode whilst he was speeding along the autobahn.

“If it had happened the day before when I was on my motorbike at 100 miles an hour it could’ve been fatal," .

Arthur, who suffers from haemophilia, was fast asleep when his iPhone began to ring.

“I woke up and was getting funny looks from people because you’re not supposed to use phones in the carriage," he added.

“The screen was completely blank but I went to turn it off and it was so hot. It let off this horrible smell like burning sulphur and the screen popped out and scratched all the way up my arm.

“It felt like being scalded by a burning piece of metal. It just made this huge popping sound, it was pretty scary. I panicked a bit because it was smoking and the other passengers were getting worried so I wrapped it up in a napkin to try to make it stop.”

The self-confessed Apple fans received medical attention at St Pancras station, where emergency care staff rubbed balm into his injured arm.

“I just hope this is a one-off, because children use these things," he said.

"I feel responsible for my little sister who is 10 and on her iPhone all the time.

"I will be contacting Apple because even if it’s out of warranty it shouldn’t just explode like that. I sleep with it next to my pillow and it could have hit me in the face.”

Apple sells millions of iPhones, but fires are very rare. Anyone who is concerned about their mobile phone can visit the tech firm's website to .

It does not comment on individual cases.