LITTER Free Dorset is calling for more businesses to remove disposable barbecues from sale.

The plea comes after success with a selection of local Morrisons, Asda as well as Tesco Extra and Express stores.

Litter Free Dorset said the main reasons they are calling for an end of disposable barbecues include the fact they are often inappropriately disposes of, poses a ‘considerable safety risk’ to both land and people’, and, that they are environmentally unsustainable.

Read more: Wareham Forest wildfire two years on - visitors reminded not to bring barbecues

Sophie Colley, Coordinator of Litter Free Dorset said: “A huge thank you to all the businesses across Dorset who have chosen to remove disposable barbecues from sale. Your actions will really help reduce the likelihood of another large-scale wildfire, while encouraging Dorset residents and visitors alike to opt for more sustainable options. ”

Haskins Garden Centres, Richardson’s Budgens in Swanage and a number of independent stores have all chosen to remove disposable barbecues from their shelves.

Marc Etheridge, Assistant General Manager at Haskins Ferndown said: “We believe in offering quality products and are extremely proud of our horticultural heritage, so are constantly looking for new ways that we can trade responsibly to preserve the environment. By refusing to stock disposable barbecues, which contribute to landfill, deforestation, and forest and heath fires, we hope to promote sustainable attitudes amongst our customers and employees.”

Read more: "More needs to be done" as Dorset drink spiking reports reach record high

Jenny Cook, Community Champion at Morrisons Verwood, said: “As a store we have chosen to remove disposable barbecues from sale simply because of the area we’re in. Many of us work and live here so we really are concerned about the effect of disposable barbecues on the local environment.”

Nationally both Aldi and Waitrose have committed to ending the sale of disposable barbecues. As well as urging Dorset businesses to follow in those footsteps, Litter Free Dorset is encouraging members of the public to consider safer alternatives.

The campaign comes in a run up to the summer season that has already seen a number of heath fires in Dorset. The month of May also marks the two year anniversary of the Wareham Forest wildfire that was started by disposable barbecues and destroyed 220 hectares of the forest.