Calls made to ban sale of disposable barbecues following High Peak moor fire

Tony Macartney says the barbecues - which sell for as little as £2 - are ‘scarring the landscape’ around the national park.

On Saturday May 30 firefighters battled a 5,000 square metre blaze on the moor above Bamford for five hours - which has been blamed on the use of a disposable barbecue.

IT professional Tony started Facebook group Stop Retailers Selling Disposable BBQs after Saturday’s fire.

He told how on Sunday while buying some essentials at his local shop he was confronted by a ‘six foot stack’ of the portable barbecues under special offer as he walked in the door.

He said: “They were essentially giving them away to people just stepping off the train.

“Most people probably don’t buy them locally - they most likely stop off at Morrisons in Leek or Chesterfield – but people buying locally are tourists.”

Since the fire, shops in Hope and Hathersage have agreed to stop selling the cheap cooking kits.

Barbecues are banned in open countryside outside of designated areas in the Peak District.

However Tony added ‘it’s not enough to say you’re not allowed to do it - we have to stop them’.

He said: “There’s over 500 square miles of countryside in the Peak District and firefighters are putting their lives on the line to protect it.”

To find out more about Stop Retailers Selling Disposable BBQs click HERE.

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