Burnham brings in military and bans disposable barbecues in ‘tinderbox’ Britain

An abandoned disposable barbecue next to the Jubilee River in Dorney, Buckinghamshire. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen An abandoned disposable barbecue next to the Jubilee River in Dorney, Buckinghamshire. Photograph: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock Burnham brings in military and bans disposable barbecues in ‘tinderbox’ Britain PM temporarily bans barbecue sales as 19 people are taken to hospital during fires in West Midlands Downing Street has issued a temporary GB-wide ban on the sale of disposable barbecues and brought in the military to help deal with wildfires as Andy Burnham urged people not to risk lives in “tinderbox” Britain this weekend. The prime minister spoke from Stourbridge in the West Midlands, where at least 19 people have been taken to hospital during eight fires that have ripped through several homes. He said it was necessary to bring in a temporary ban on disposable barbecues from today, asking retailers to withdraw them from sale, as he spoke of the “absolutely devastating” wildfires. “Please think about the situation we are in,” he said. “Britain is a tinderbox right now. Setting a fire in any outdoor setting is a risk to people’s homes and other people’s lives.” View image in fullscreen Andy Burnham with West Midlands’ chief fire officer, Simon Tuhill, during a visit to Stourbridge, England. Photograph: Peter Byrne/Pool PA/APHe said not all of the 37 fires across Britain had been caused “probable” that some of them had been. Advice published online -use grills had “been the cause of a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months. “Disposable barbecues cannot be considered a safe product in the context of the ongoing weather and environmental conditions and must not be made available for sale either in store or online at the current time.” The prime minister also revealed he planned to commission firefighting planes, as used to douse flames in Europe and the US, to combat the spread of wildfires, as he said the country had to “face up” to the “changing climate”. Grass fire in Stourbridge triggers ‘extensive’ devastation Burnham said plans were being drawn up for emergency financial support for fire services battling the spread of wildfires. He warned that the weekend ahead would be difficult in terms of fires, and that hotter and drier than normal conditions could last through September and into October. He said late autumn could then bring the prospect of floods as the ground would be drier than usual. skip past promotion after promotion The prime minister has faced criticism for not having addressed the issue of the climate emergency after his first Cobra meeting on the heatwave this week.