Announcing the move on Wednesday, the retailer pointed out that it had already stopped selling the portable grills near national parks and in the capital, but now it’s going a step further. Marks & Spencer tweeted: “Given the unusually hot and dry conditions we have taken the precautionary step of removing these from sale across the UK.” It comes after the Co-op decided to stop selling disposable barbecues in 130 stores located in or within a mile of national parks last June. In March this year, Aldi said it would no longer sell the items in any of its UK supermarkets in a bid to protect forests and wildlife. Subscribe to the Business Today daily email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter @BusinessDesk The London Fire Brigade (LFB) called for a complete ban on disposable barbecues last week after witnessing a spate of fires during the record-breaking heat wave. He praised the move by M&S as “good news”, writing on Twitter: “We want to work with retailers to stop the sale of disposable barbecues and reduce the risk of dangerous grass fires.” The LFB has warned that disposable barbecues “pose a significant fire risk if not properly extinguished, causing grass fires in open areas and burning lawns”. The UK is experiencing historically low levels of rainfall, particularly in south-east England. The heat has caused the fruit and vegetables on the vine to die and prompted Southern and South East Water to announce a rubber ban. They are backing a petition to parliament for a complete ban on the sale and use of disposable barbecues in the UK. London’s fire commissioner Andy Roe added to calls to ban the devices and said “urgent action” needed to be taken to outlaw the sale of disposable barbecues because of the “untold harm” they cause.
