Scarborough and Whitby MP calls for action on disposable BBQs after another blaze
The MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Alison Hume, has renewed her call for a ban on disposable barbecues in public areas, and urged supermarkets to stop selling them, after another preventable blaze broke out in Wykeham Forest.
One year after a major incident was declared near Whitby, which threatened lives, businesses and a critical piece of national security infrastructure, five local crews and specialist equipment were dispatched to the outskirts of Scarborough after flames spread through trees, bushes and undergrowth over the weekend.
The latest emergency, which Forestry England has attributed to someone using a disposable BBQ, comes only 12 months after a campfire caused a huge fire on Fylingdales Moor which spread to an area covering 20 square kilometres and nearly reached RAF Fylingdales – which provides a continuous ballistic missile early warning service to both the UK and US governments.
After repeating her call for tighter controls on use of these devices during a debate in Westminster, Ms Hume said: “I’m upset that, after everything our communities went through last summer, a disposable barbecue has sparked a blaze on the North York Moors National Park.
“People watched in horror as flames tore across our landscape, threatening homes, businesses, livelihoods and RAF Fylingdales.
“Firefighters, farmers and others put themselves in harm's way to stop that disaster becoming even worse.
“Yet despite all the warnings and the scars that are still visible today, this continues to happen.
“I’d like to see supermarkets remove immediately disposable BBQs from their shelves.”
“One careless decision is all it takes and it’s why I will continue to call for disposable barbecues to be banned in public areas.”