Andy Burnham has said the government is considering a ban on disposable barbecues amid increased wildfire risk driven by this summer’s droughts.
The prime minister told reporters single-use grills had been behind a number of recent blazes and people should not be using them “at this moment in time”.
Some retailers have already decided to voluntarily stop selling the devices, which have previously attracted warnings from fire chiefs.
It comes as Burnham chairs an emergency Cobra meeting on the government’s response to record temperatures in recent months.
A No 10 spokesperson said the government understood firefighters, farmers and NHS staff were all facing challenges connected to the weather.
Speaking during a visit to Stevenage, Burnham said a disposable barbecue ban was something the government was “certainly going to consider”.
“I do want to leave the meeting today with a loud and clear message that we do want people to take the greatest possible care when they are out in the countryside, both in terms of cigarettes, but also those temporary barbecues that we know are causing risk of fires,” he added.
The Cobra meeting will be attended by ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Home Office, and Department for Health, as well as the Environment Agency.
It will be the second Cobra meeting this year on heatwaves, after one took place amid high temperatures in June.
