Burnham sets out package of measures to respond to devastating wildfires

David Hughes and Sam Hall, Press Association

Andy Burnham has called in the military, announced a ban on disposable barbecues and warned smokers not to risk setting light to “tinderbox” Britain as he scrambled to respond to the summer heatwave and wildfires.

The Prime Minister also revealed he planned to commission firefighting planes, as used to douse flames in Europe and the US, to combat the spread of wildfires.

He said the country has to “face up” to the “changing climate” and needs to transition to “more clean energy”.

Mr Burnham said plans were being drawn up for emergency financial support for fire services battling the spread of wildfires.

His comments came on a visit to Stourbridge to see the impact of a devastating blaze.

Mr Burnham told broadcasters: “I’ve never seen scenes like this in Britain, where you just see a whole house gutted, smouldering.”

The Prime Minister said 100 military personnel had been deployed to a blaze in South Wales to offer “critically needed” support.

He said “Britain is a tinderbox right now” with “37 fires smouldering around the country”.

Mr Burnham acknowledged that aerial firefighting capabilities would help and they would be commissioned nationally for use around the country.

He promised a summit with fire services as he acknowledged they had not been given the funding needed to cope with the impact of climate change – including the possibility of floods later in the year.

“I can’t say today that we’ve done enough to fully resource them to deal with these type of incidents, and I want our firefighters to know that I understand how it seems from their point of view, and I’m going to convene that summit to make sure we get in place the right support, including the aerial support, permanently if that is what they deem is needed,” he said.

“Obviously, there’s other adjustments that we need to make in relation to climate change.”

He said experts had warned the UK could face a wet autumn and winter because of the El Nino effect “so, after fire could come floods”.

The Government’s temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues due to the heatwave conditions comes as the single-use grills “have been the cause of a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months”, advice published online by the Government said.

It added: “Disposable barbecues cannot be considered a safe product in the context of the ongoing weather and environmental conditions and must not be made available for sale either in store or online at the current time.”

Prime Minister Andy Burnham had suggested earlier in the week that such a measure could be introduced.

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