Burnham to consider ban on disposable barbecues as wildfires rage in UK

PM to look at imposing restriction on devices in public spaces, though campaigners fear it does not go far enough

The government will look at banning disposable barbecues as wildfires continue to rage across the UK, Andy Burnham has said.

Disposable barbecues have been the cause of a number of serious fires over the last few years, but campaigners were critical of the prime minister’s failure to link those fires more broadly to the climate crisis.

Macclesfield, Cheshire, July 2026: a large woodland fire that was tackled by dozens of firefighters. Cheshire fire and rescue service said a discarded barbecue was the probable cause

Three separate fires in one day around London, July 2026: in Feltham, 6 hectares of heathland close to houses were damaged. The London fire brigade urged people not to use disposable barbecues and to properly extinguish cigarettes after crews tackled three grass fires.

The Trossachs, Scotland, May 2025: covered 2 hectares in the Glen Finglas region of the national park. Glen Finglas is the biggest Woodland Trust site in the UK. The barbecue understood to have sparked that fire was found with a burger still on the grill.