A Saddleworth councillor is urging local residents to sign a petition to ban the sale of disposable barbecues in order to protect wildlife and green spaces.
A series of fires at Dovestone Reservoir in July this year could have been started deliberately and a used disposable barbecue has also been found recently. This follows devastating fires in previous dry spells which have sometimes taken days to get under control and put out, wasting valuable Fire Service time.
On Wednesday, five males were caught by police and the fire service having a barbecue at Dovestone Reservoir.
Greater Manchester Police said their details were taken for prosecution.
A GMP spokesperson said: "Please do not be tempted to do this! Despite the warm weather, we can't stress enough the importance of never taking a barbecue on the moors or to the countryside - it poses a huge risk of fire and is also a risk to the environment."
Five males had their details taken by police after having a barbecue on Dovestone Reservoir this week.
Councillor George Hulme, Labour Councillor for Saddleworth North, said: "Dovestone is a much loved beauty spot and home to protected species of ground nesting birds. Fires have previously killed birds in their nests, destroyed habitats and are difficult to put out because of the peat beneath the vegetation. Oldham Council has put a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in place and people can be fined up to £1,000 for lighting a barbecue or starting a fire."
Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury's and Tesco have withdrawn disposable barbecues from sale in all stores ‘to protect open spaces and reduce the risk of fires’. This action follows the Co-op which banned the sale of disposable barbecues at 130 stores close to National Parks in June 2021 and, from March this year, Aldi no longer sells them to protect forests and wildlife.
Councillor Hulme added: "Despite the PSPO and the good work done by the volunteer Marshals, people have still been caught carrying or using disposable barbecues at Dovestone and elsewhere on Saddleworth Moor. I welcome the steps taken by Sainsbury's, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Aldi to stop or restrict the sale of disposable barbecues but more needs to be done.
"I urge everyone to sign the petition asking Parliament to ban the sale of disposable barbecues to protect our wildlife and green spaces. Over 19,000 people have signed and if 100,000 people sign the petition has to be considered for debate in Parliament."
The petition can be found here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/618664
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