The UK government has imposed a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues, as they attempt to combat the "significant risk to the public" during the current drought and heatwave.

The ban comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham had urged retailers to pause sales during periods of extreme heat.

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said that disposable BBQs, which are readily available in both small and large retailers, have been the cause of "a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months".

The Department added that the product "cannot be considered safe" and "must not be available for sale either in store or online at the current time".

The PM said that retailers would be receiving guidance about the change and also that the government would consider banning single use grills during summer months in future.

A potental ban was discussed at an emergency Cobra meeting on the government's response to record temperatures.

The Cobra meeting was attended by ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Home Office, and Department for Health, as well as the Environment Agency. There has already been one Cobra meeting on heatwaves this year chaired by officials but this was the first such emergency session chaired by Burnham.

Which retailers are affected by the disposable BBQ ban? 

A number of large-scale retailers and supermarkets had already voluntarily halted sales of the devices under a 2023 framework agreed between fire chiefs and the British Retail Consortium.

The framework says that retailers should suspend sales once an extreme heat event has been declared as imminent, or in response to "reasonable, evidence based" requests from local councils.

A Labour MP wrote to large retailers last week urging them to stop them selling disposable barbecues for the rest of the summer, whilst a multiple Liberal Democrat MPs have also backed such restrictions.

The National Farmers Union has also called upon local councils to issue public space protection orders in an attempt to restrict their use in public areas.

Authorities including Brighton & Hove and Fylde are among those to have used these orders to ban single-use grills in recent years. Anyone in violation of such orders can currently be fined up to £100 - a maximum fee that is set to increase to £500 in future.

UK wildfires are becoming an increasing risk 

Fire chiefs have said that UK wildfires are becoming "a recurring and growing feature of the risks facing our communities" amid an ever-changing climate.

Fire crews responded to 393 wildfires across England and Wales in July, marking the busiest month on record.

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