New Forest shops urged to stop selling barbecues

Recent fires in the New Forest include a gorse blaze at Sway on 23 April

Shops in the New Forest are being asked not to sell disposable barbecues following a series of blazes in the national park.

The New Forest National Park Authority said large numbers of them were being used when a fire warning was still in place.

Park officials said "multiple fires" have had to be put out in recent weeks.

The authority has now asked all retailers in the national park area to remove the barbecues from sale.

Forestry England said New Forest rangers and keepers spoke to "hundreds of people and extinguished over 60 barbecues and campfires" over one weekend.

'Huge concern'

New Forest National Park Authority chairman Oliver Crosthwaite-Eyre said: "In nearby Dorset we have seen over 220 hectares of rare heathland and Wareham Forest devastated by fire, and the same could happen here.

"There is also a huge concern here that New Forest ponies and cattle could be put at risk."

The fire at Wareham Forest started on 18 May and is thought to have been started by a barbecue.

The authority said some stores in Brockenhurst had already stopped selling barbecues voluntarily.

Retailers who are backing the ban are asked to display a poster and show their support on social media by tagging #BBQFreeNewForest.