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Government bans disposable barbecues due to 'significant risk to the public' during heatwave

The Government has issued a temporary ban on the sale of the cooking devices as they pose a 'significant risk to the public' due to the extreme weather and heatwave conditions

[Disposable barbecues have been temporarily banned]

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Disposable barbecues have been temporarily banned(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Disposable barbecues have been banned to help prevent fires as Andy Burnham warned Britain is a "tinderbox".

The Government issued a temporary ban on the sale of the cooking devices as they pose a significant risk to the public due to the heatwave conditions.

It came as the PM unveiled a string of measures to combat the extreme weather, including the use of firefighting planes, and emergency financial support for fire services battling the spread of wildfires.

This week Mr Burnham chaired an emergency Cobra committee in response to a prolonged spell of exceptionally hot and dry weather.

[Andy Burnham described the UK as a 'tinderbox']

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Andy Burnham described the UK as a 'tinderbox'(Image: Peter Byrne/Pool PA via AP)

The new advice published on the Governments website states: During the current drought and heatwave conditions, the government considers that the supply and subsequent foreseeable use of disposable barbecues poses a significant risk to the public, and the environment, and therefore cannot be considered a safe product.

They should not be made available for supply either in store or online at the current time.

These guidelines will be kept under review, and will be withdrawn in consultation with relevant departments and agencies, as weather conditions change sufficiently to significantly reduce the risks.

It comes as the PM urged the public to take the greatest of care and dont light anything in an outdoor space right now.

He told reporters in Stourbridge: Britain is a tinderbox right now, and please just have that in your mind. Were going to go into the rest of the weekend. This is not over by any means.

"Weve got 37 fires smouldering around the country, so it could be more. So please bear that in mind at all times.

Ive never seen anything like it. I mean, I dealt with wildfires in Greater Manchester, but nothing on this scale. Ive never seen scenes like this in Britain, where you just see a whole house gutted, smouldering."

He promised a summit with fire services as he acknowledged they had not been given the funding needed to cope with the impact of climate change, and warned the nation faced floods later in the year.

Mr Burnham said experts had told him the UK could face a wet autumn and winter because of the El Nino effect so, after fire could come floods.

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.

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