M&S removes disposable barbeques from sale across UK stores

M&S has announced that it has removed disposable barbeques from sale across all of its UK stores in a bid to “reduce the risk of fires”.

Following soaring temperatures during the UK’s 40C heatwave in July, the retailer told its Twitter following today, 3 August that it would no longer be stocking or selling the outdoor cooking product.

The tweet read: “At M&S we want to help protect open spaces and reduce the risk of fires.

“We’d already stopped selling disposable barbecues near national parks and in London but given the unusually hot and dry conditions, we’ve taken the precautionary step of removing them from sale across the UK.”

READ MORE: Analysis: Why M&S ‘milestone’ acquisition of Gist will boost its food supply chain

The London Fire Brigade (LFB), which has been vocal on the ban of disposable barbecues, said it the move was “good”.

This comes as according to Sky News, in the week commencing 18 July,  research revealed the organisation received 8,302 calls and attended 3,231 incidents, including more than 1,000 fires.

“Despite our grass fire warnings, we’ve still seen some people behaving carelessly and recklessly. We need urgent action now to see a national ban on the sale of disposable barbecues,” London’s Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said.

“They can be bought for as little as £5 and can cause untold damage, especially when the grass is as dry as it has been over the last few weeks.”

He added recent incidents were “another example of how we are increasingly being challenged by new extremes of weather as our climate changes”.

As a result LFB is backing a petition on the parliament website calling for a “complete ban on the sale and use” of disposable barbecues in the UK.

Disposable barbeques can no longer be found via its online store and M&S confirmed to Grocery Gazette that all of its disposable barbeque products were removed from stores earlier this week.

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