DISPOSABLE barbecues could be banned across the country this summer in a major legal crackdown.
It comes after news that anyone lighting a disposable barbecue on a beach in Brighton this summer will face a fine of up to £100.
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Environment minister Victoria Prentis disclosed that research is being commissioned into the summer favourite’s role in wildfires – which could lead to a government crackdown.
The temporary grills are responsible for 4 per cent of serious accidental blazes according to Home Office data.
Prentis said: “Disposable barbecues, if used correctly, do not, in themselves, pose a wildfire risk.
“It is when they are left unattended, or used recklessly, that the risk occurs.
“It is clear to me that we do not have enough data on the role that disposable barbecues play in wildfire incidents.
“However, anecdotal evidence…suggests that they have been responsible for a number of serious incidents.”
Aldi have already made a bold change regarding the selling of barbecues due to their impact on the environment.
Meanwhile it was revealed that Brits could be hit with a £100 fine for drinking a beer on the beach this summer.
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Prentis isn’t the only MP to call for stricter regulations on the grills with Conservative Robbie Moore demanding that they are banned from specific areas.
Moore, a member of the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee said: “The use of disposable barbecues in areas with a high fire risk should be banned.
“The Government should be looking at the implications of their use in places where there have been higher instances of these sorts of fires, particularly on moors.”
Labour MP Holly Lynch, who led a Commons debate on the issue last week, said firefighters in West Yorkshire had already attended 75 wildfires this year.
She was keen to emphasise that a “significant number were caused by careless and reckless use of disposable barbecues”.
Other MPs urged environmental sectors of the government to “step up” and solve the problem.
Mike Amesbury, Labour’s local government spokesman, said: “Now it’s time for Defra [the Department for Environment] to step up and become more proactive in tackling this growing problem.
“That should include consideration of whether disposable barbecues should be banned from sale entirely.”
