Disposable barbecues have been banned from sale in rural Stirling Co-op stores in a bid to prevent fires.
The retailer has announced they are withdrawing the packs from sale from all stores in or within one mile of all UK national parks. This means local stores in Killin, Callander and Aberfoyle will no longer stock them.
The move is designed to help prevent devastating wildfires and follows a recent blaze in a litter bin within the park caused by a discarded barbecue.
Adele Balmforth, buying director at Co-op said: “Whilst the majority of consumers use, extinguish, and dispose of instant barbecues safely, and we continue to sell many of them from our stores across the UK, we respect that local decisions to protect the parkland have to be made. We have removed instant barbecues from sale to help protect the landscape of the communities in which we serve.“
Beauty spots have been blighted by litter and dirty camping in recent months.
Earlier this month firefighters had to extinguish a blaze after a visitor left a disposable barbecue in a bin in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
And last July 20 people were charged after parts of the national park were trashed by dirty campers and trees were damaged by fire. Following the announcement by the Co-op, the stores in rural Stirling, along with more than 100 other shops in the UK, have removed the equipment from their shelves.
This has been welcomed by national park bosses.
Kenny Auld, head of visitor services at Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, said: “We welcome the news that the Co-op has stopped selling disposable barbecues in stores close to the national park as they can pose a fire risk.
“If visitors want to cook during their visit to the park, it is much quicker, cleaner and safer to use a camping stove. If you do bring a barbecue, it is important that it is raised off the ground and on a surface that won’t be damaged, like sand or stones.
“It is incredibly important to make sure a barbecue is fully extinguished before disposing of it – we recently had an incident at Milarrochy Bay on East Loch Lomond where a discarded barbecue set fire to a litter bin and the fire service had to be called out.”
Joe McKay from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are asking visitors to make sure campfires and barbecues are lit in a fire safe pit or container, are always attended, and are fully extinguished before leaving. Smokers are reminded to extinguish cigarettes. Just one ember can start a fire which has the potential to burn for days and can be devastating for communities, wildlife and farmland and places a strain on emergency services.
“We are asking visitors to always act safely and responsibly in the outdoors, and always follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.”
For more on camping and barbecue safety go to https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/your-safety/barbecue-safety.aspx
