First minister urges shops to stop selling disposable BBQs

The first minister has urged Welsh retailers to stop selling disposable barbecues as this summer's drought raises the risk of wildfires.

Rhun ap Iorwerth said he backed Andy Burnham's call for "all retailers, big and small" to follow voluntary guidance and suspend sales during periods of extreme heat.

The issue was discussed at an emergency UK government Cobra meeting on Wednesday, attended by ap Iorwerth, to consider the response to record temperatures.

He told BBC Wales he supported a voluntary ban, adding that having barbecues "in tinder-dry places is not a very, very good idea".

A number of retailers have already stopped selling the devices under a framework agreed in 2023 between fire chiefs and the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The guidance says retailers should suspend sales when an extreme heat event is declared imminent, or in response to "reasonable, evidence-based" requests from local councils.

Burnham told reporters single-use grills had been behind a number of recent blazes and said people should not be using them "at this moment in time".

He added that, in the longer term, the UK government would consider a summer ban on the grills.

Ap Iorwerth told Radio Wales Breakfast he backed measures to reduce the risk of wildfires.

"I absolutely support taking measures that could remove this risk as much as possible," he said.

"We know that having naked flames and barbecues in tinder-dry places is not a very good idea."

He said some retailers had already responded positively to calls to withdraw disposable barbecues from sale.

"I would absolutely support measures to take out that risk. It's not something we're able to do in terms of introducing a ban," he said.

Ap Iorwerth said the issue had been discussed at Wednesday's Cobra meeting, adding: "Andy Burnham has made his view known. We all have responsibilities."

He said the hot, dry summer had had "pretty devastating consequences" in terms of drought and wildfires.

"We have to do everything that we can. If taking as many, if not all, of these barbecues out of the system helps absolutely we should all be eager to do that."

Additional reporting by Alexandra Banfi