Disposable barbecues could be banned to help prevent fires, Andy Burnham has said.
Speaking to reporters on a visit to Stevenage, Burnham 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 [Cobra emergency committee] 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.
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