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A Finnish inventor has created the world's first intelligent phone charger that knows when to switch itself off.

The Asmo charger aims to save the environment, and prevent fire hazards, by switching itself off immediately once a smartphone is no longer being charged.

Created by I.T. engineer Asmo Saloranta, it was developed after his fiancee Johanna Papinaho's childhood home burnt to the ground by a mobile phone charger left plugged in.

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A Finnish inventor has created the world's first intelligent phone charger - that knows when to switch itself off. The Asmo charger (pictured) aims to save the environment and prevent fire hazards by switching itself off immediately once a smartphone is detached

The charger shuts down automatically and isolates itself from the electricity grid once the phone is unplugged.

Saloranta, 33, from Oulu, Finland, said: 'Mobile phone chargers consume power, even if there is no phone connected to it.

'I set myself a challenge to invent a charger that is much safer and consumes no standby power. Two years later, I came up with a solution.

'How it works is the power to the charger is limited and isolated from the grid - it's a pulse of power that comes off the grid rather than a stream. The phone charger simply turns of the flow.'

The charger comes with several different connectors, including the Apple 30-pin connector, the new Apple Lighting connector, and Micro-USB.

Users can also choose to buy either a U.S. or EU two-prong plug by pledging at least £17 ($29) on Kickstarter.

The company is planning to launch a UK version of the device later this year.

Asmo is trying to raise £41,000 ($70,000) on Kickstarter with the aim of delivering pre-orders to Kickstarter supporters in October.

The 'Automatic Stop' technology is currently patent pending and full-scale commercial production of the charger will begin in December.

The world's first intelligent phone charger... turns itself OFF

The eco plug is only turned on when it is plugged into a phone. When it is taken out the plug turns off, preventing overheating and possible fires. The Asmo plug can be used with a variety of devices including most Android phones and the latest iPhones

'It's one thing to aim to be safer and conserve energy, but it's another for the device to do it for you,' continued Saloranta.

'It is really taking off now, I am now in talks with mobile phone manufacturers.

'There have been so many tragic stories about phone chargers when they have been left on, I thought it was strange that nobody had done this.

'Johanna is definitely my driving force behind the project, her story helped me come up with the idea, and she is very passionate.

'Our mission is to make the world a better place - with Asmo charger one that can save money and the environment while improving fire safety.'

He added: 'In one year, for every mobile charger you own, you pay for 8,000 watts of wasted energy, [equivalent to] keeping your laptop running for 260 hours or leaving your lights on for a month.

'There are almost seven billion mobile phones in the world. By leaving mobile phone chargers on, we use the equivalent of two nuclear power plants or 25,000 wind power mills.'