Residents urged to avoid garden bonfires during warm weather

Residents are being urged to avoid garden bonfires wherever possible after a number of calls about waste being burned in home gardens.

Garden fires can spread quickly to fences, sheds and nearby properties, causing serious damage. Smoke can affect neighbours and may amount to a statutory nuisance if it substantially interferes with their homes or risks their health.

Household rubbish, furniture and other waste should not be burned. Plastics, foam, painted materials and treated wood can produce harmful fumes, while damp garden waste creates extra smoke.

People are advised to compost or recycle as much as they can, use a garden waste collection or take unwanted items to a household waste recycling centre.

Sefton Council’s bulky-item service can collect larger household items from residential properties. The council also lists four recycling centres in the borough, including the Southport site on Foul Lane, which accepts a range of garden waste, wood, furniture and white goods.

If a garden fire is dangerously out of control or threatens a fence, shed or property, move away and call 999, asking for the fire service. Do not try to tackle a spreading fire yourself.

People heading outdoors during the warm weather are also being reminded not to use disposable barbecues in parks, fields, woodland, on beaches or on moorland. Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service advises using barbecues only in suitable, dedicated areas where they are permitted. Taking a picnic instead avoids the risk of a fire being left on dry ground.

Any barbecue or fire that is used must be watched at all times and fully extinguished before people leave. Hot ashes should not be put into a wheelie bin.