A senior MP has said that Chinese lanterns must be banned after one caused a huge fire in the Midlands which took hours to put out.
Over £6 million worth of damage was caused by the blaze and it took 200 firefighters to put it out. Investigators found that the fire was sparked by a chinese lantern, which has caused a debate into whether they should be banned or not.
According to daventryexpress.co.uk, Liberal Democrat MP, Tim Farron, believes that the lanterns are “immensely dangerous” and should be banned for a number of safety reasons.
“It is laudable for governments to take their time and be cautious about banning things but the evidence now very strongly points towards that ban,” he said.
Mr Farron has previously campaigned for the lanterns to be banned, as he claims they pose a risk to farmers livestock and crops, reports timesandstar.co.uk.
Chief fire officer for Cumbria, Dominic Harrison has said they support a review into the safety of Chinese lanterns.
“As we’ve seen this week, these lanterns can pose a real hazard as once they’re launched there’s no way of controlling the direction they take and there’s no guarantee the fuel will be fully extinguished and cooled when the lantern finally lands,” he said.