Sky lanterns boycott

A new community guide to organising bonfires published by the Department for Communities and Local Government recommends that sky lanterns are not used at all by those celebrating the seasonal event.

The guidance states: “We recommend that you do not use sky lanterns as you have no control over them once they’ve been set off. They can kill animals, litter the countryside and start fires.

“If you do choose to set them off, always follow the manufacturers’ guidance/instructions carefully.”

The CLA, which represents thousands of landowners, farmers and rural businesses throughout the region and has campaigned for many years for sky lanterns to be outlawed, said the Government was right to take the stance outlined in its new document.

Dorothy Fairburn, the CLA’s regional director for the North, said: “It is very good news that the Government is now properly starting to recognise the dangers of sky lanterns. Far too many farmers and landowners have experience of how they can kill animals, litter the countryside and start fires.

“Many of the local authorities in the North we have written to as part of our campaign to ban sky lanterns are now prohibiting their use on council-owned land because they are starting to understand the issues.

“We hope that eventually the Government will take heed and implement an outright ban.”