Marks & Spencer is to stop selling single-use barbecues in all its UK stores.
Amid a summer that has seen record temperatures and exceptionally dry conditions, the retailer said it wanted to “help protect open spaces and reduce fire risk”.
M&S tweeted: “We had previously stopped selling single-use barbecues near national parks and in London, but given the unusually warm and dry conditions we have taken the precautionary step of withdrawing them from sale across the UK United”.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB), which has called for a ban on single-use barbecues, said it was “good news”.
On Twitter, LFB added: “We want to work with retailers to stop the sale of single-use barbecues and reduce the risk of dangerous grass fires.”
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe has written to local authorities to call for a temporary ban on the use of barbecues in all public parks and open spaces.
Dry conditions across the UK have fueled numerous bushfires, some of which have destroyed homes and crops, with calls for a ban on single-use barbecues behind many of the blazes.
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The new figures show that in the week starting July 18, LFB received 8,302 calls and dealt with 3,231 incidents, including more than 1,000 fires.
Mr Roe said: “Despite our warnings about grass fires, we have still seen some people behaving recklessly and recklessly.
“We need urgent action now to see a national ban on the sale of single-use barbecues.
“They can be bought for as little as £5 and can cause untold damage, especially when the grass is as dry as it has been for the last few weeks.”
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He added that the recent incidents were “another example of how we are increasingly being challenged by new weather extremes as our climate changes”.
LFB is backing a petition on the parliament’s website calling for a “total ban on the sale and use” of single-use barbecues in the UK.
It comes after it was revealed that parts of England have had their driest July since records began, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.