Disposable barbeques might be banned to assist stop wildfire danger, Andy Burnham says
The new PM Andy Burnham will chair an emergency Cobra committee later on Wednesday in response to a prolonged spell of exceptionally hot and dry weather across the UK
Disposable barbecues could be banned to help prevent fires(Image: Getty Images)
Disposable barbecues could be banned to help prevent fires amid the risk of further wildfires, Andy Burnham has suggested.
The PM warned he is looking at outlawing single-use grills to help prevent fires, as the nation continued to be hit by extreme heat. Mr Burnham will chair an emergency Cobra committee later on Wednesday in response to a prolonged spell of exceptionally hot and dry weather.
On a visit to Stevenage earlier, he said: “There is obviously a significant problem of wildfires in the south. The New Forest fire is a great concern; we have seen them in northern areas as well as Suffolk recently.
“This is a message for the public as well, because the wildfires I mentioned, many of them have been created by disposable barbecues.”
“I do believe we need to get the message out loud and clear. People should not be using those barbecues outside at this moment in time.
“I don’t know yet what the remedy is, but I do want to leave the meeting today with a loud and clear message that we do want people to take the greatest possible care when they are out in the countryside, both in terms of cigarettes, but also those temporary barbecues that we know are causing risk of fires.”
Britain has been battered by heatwaves in recent months, facing its fifth of the year in what the Met Office say is the hottest summer on record.
The PM’s Cobra meeting will be attended by ministers, officials and agencies, and is the the second Cobra meeting this year on heatwaves, after one took place amid high temperatures in June. A Downing Street spokesperson said the Government understood firefighters, farmers and NHS staff were all facing challenges connected to the weather.
It comes with parts of the UK facing 38C temperatures later this week as a firefighters’ union chief warned the country faces a “national emergency” over wildfires.
Rare amber “extreme heat” warnings have been issued by the forecaster for London and parts of the South East, East Midlands, East of England, West Midlands and South Yorkshire from 9am to midnight on Thursday.
Most major UK supermarkets suspended sales of disposable barbecues in recent weeks, which is understood to have been in line with voluntary guidance from the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).
