Samsung phones at the centre of a scare over fire-prone batteries have been recalled in Bermuda.

The range-topping Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the subject of a worldwide recall after reports from around the world of overheated batteries catching fire or exploding.

Kevin Davies, president of Audio Visual, which has stores in Hamilton and Somerset, said three of the devices had been supplied to customers and recalled.

Mr Davies said: “We contacted the three customers who had purchased them. They said they hadn’t had any problems, but to be on the safe side, we gave them a full refund and sent the phones back.

“I think they used them for about two weeks. Nobody had any problems, but we had to follow the recall and do things right.”

At CellOne, a spokesman said: “We saw the problem before we made the order. As soon as we hear they have fixed the problem and there are no more issues, we will try to get some.”

He added: “They are very popular phones and we were looking forward to getting them.”

A spokeswoman for Digicel said the company had not carried the Note 7 in its Bermuda stores. Samsung halted sales of the Note 7, which was released last month, after reports of overheating batteries and catching fire.

Around 2.5 million of the phones sold around the globe will have to be recalled, the Korean manufacturer, the world’s biggest maker of phones, said.

The recall is expected to cost Samsung up to $5 billion in lost revenue this year.

Samsung has already ordered a recall of one million Note 7s sold in the US and either replaced the phones or refunded customers.

The company received 92 reports of batteries overheating in the US, including 26 reports of burns and 55 cases of property damage.

And last Thursday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission made it a formal recall.

A manufacturing defect in some in the lithium-ion battery used in the Note 7 model is believed to have caused the problem.

Customers can use a special page on the Samsung website to check the serial number of their phone to see if it subject to a recall.

Note 7s with different batteries are expected to go on sale in the US today, with safe phones marked with a an “S” and/or a black square on the box.

The US Federal Aviation Administration earlier advised against using or charging the Note 7 while on flights, and now that the CPSC has officially recalled the phone illegal to do so.

Transport Canada has also issued a statement, recommending the phones should be “carried in the cabin, where an incident can be immediately mitigated, and not in checked baggage”.

Three airlines in Australia have gone further, placing bans on the phones coming onto their planes.

Low-quality battery cells are known to be prone to overheating and failing when charged and used heavily.

An early report by Korean regulators said that “an error in production that placed pressure on plates contained within battery cells.

“That in turn brought negative and positive poles into contact, triggering excessive heat.”