Samsung has announced that it will permanently discontinue its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after multiple reports of the devices exploding and catching fire.

The Korean company said on Tuesday that it would stop production of the £739 phones. It came after it urged owners to shut them off and halted production.

Samsung had been hit by dozens of reports of its flagship device, a crucial rival to the iPhone, overheating due to battery faults, and in several instances catching fire and exploding.