An electronic scooter caught fire on the streets of New York earlier this month and had to be extinguished by firefighters.

Deyvi Pilosof was riding his Widewheel vehicle from his office in Midtown Manhattan on August 13th when he heard a loud noise and realised the battery had died.

"I walked and got on a cab. As soon as we started going, the driver and I noticed smoke coming from the trunk," Pilosof said.

"I got the scooter out and put it on the road on Central Park West. For about seven more minutes smoke came and there were mini explosions and eventually, scooter caught fire," he added.

"Eventually, they came and put the fire out," he said.

Pilosof said he got his money refunded by the company which sold him the scooter but he wants to warn others "to be careful."

"These devices do need stricter regulations," he said.