Drivers are being warned to remove one item from their car this Bank Holiday weekend before it explodes.

Fizzy drinks cans can cause damage to your car’s interior in hot weather because they explode, cascading cola all over the inside of your vehicle, thanks to the ‘greenhouse effect’ caused by sunlight shining through windows.

And it doesn’t have to be very hot for this to happen. It only needs to be 16C in order to reach temperatures of 38C inside your car, say experts. In fact, this very phenomenon happened to me on Thursday, when I left a pack of 24 Pepsi Max in the boot of my car, only to find on Friday morning that six cans had exploded in the back, ripped open, exposing dangerous shredded metal, and I had to clean all of the inside of the car to mop up drink that had saturated into all the surfaces.

A spokesperson for Select Car Leasing explained why this happens. They said: "When the sun’s energy enters the car and begins to heat solid objects, it begins to create what is called a greenhouse effect.

"Studies have found that an outdoors temperature of 22C can cause a car to heat up to 47C in the space of an hour.”

Driving.co.uk adds: “It doesn’t have to be particularly hot environment for a car interior to suffer from the greenhouse effect. This is where the sun’s energy enters the car and begins to heat solid objects, such as the dashboard and seats. These in turn begin to radiate heat — but that heat can’t escape back through the windows. That means even parking in the shade might not mitigate disaster.

“Weather experts say that when outside temperatures are 16C, a car interior can warm to a very uncomfortable 38C (100F). However, when the temperature outside is 30C a car interior will quickly reach 60C, which could lead to disaster very quickly.

“Who hasn’t opened a fizzy drink after it’s been in the car while driving, only for it to spray all over the place? Unfortunately, in hot weather that’s the least of the problems: drinks cans are widely documented to explode in hot weather, covering a car interior — which is a particular problem with sticky, sugary drinks. Even a carton of orange juice can explode if left in a car for an extended period.”

According to Met Office weather forecasts, the hot weather is set to cool off slightly on Sunday, with temperatures peaking at 15C on Sunday in most of the UK, but then Bank Holiday Monday will see a slight increase to 16C, before warmer temperatures return again on Friday with 18C and next Saturday with 19C.