to think Chinese Lanterns should be banned

[Bimbledorf]

dangerous

As beautiful as they are, Chinese Lanterns are the cause of many fires every year; today they are the cause of the above... Why are we still allowed to use them?

I dont think you are allowed to use them anymore

I still have some though and will be lighting one again on the 24th aug

That's a fire as a paper and plastics recycling plant with (I don't think) no mention of lanterns

But basically, people don't think beyond the "oooh, pretty!" aspect.

Yanbu.
As pretty as they look, they are unnecessary and a danger to wildlife

i thought they were banned after causing the deaths of cows, (eating the remains of them) i might be wrong and dreamt that

I didn't see any mention of Chinese lanterns in the link?

I agree that they're awful and I wish they were banned but how do you know that they are responsible for that awful fire?

I have read that twice now and still cant see any mention of chinese lanterns in the article.

What does the link have to do with it?

But yes, they're really dangerous - you can get ones that claim they burn out safely, but this is obviously not true (you can't control them once you've let them go).

SoupDragon The fire chief from west mids has just been on the news saying cctv footage shows a lantern dropping on one of the plastic bales and in their early fire investigations it appears that it was the cause. Sorry would have helped to say that in my OP!

They are so dangerous, last year some people released them at a campsite I was staying on. One set fire to a tent, it was lucky the tent was empty as those things burn fast.

this would have been a better link

And another link

They are really dangerous. Lots of organisations calling for a ban: rspca link

Ah right! Well I hope this is the end of them then - bloody awful things.

Crikey. That is really scary.

The thing is ... do people honestly not know they're dangerous any more? They've been trendy for about 5 years I'd say, and I think by this time most people have heard they might be dangerous - they're just being selfish.

I know someone who insisted on having them for her wedding, in the countryside, without bothering to let the farmers around know about it. When challenged on it she said they were 'the safe kind'.

There isn't a bloody safe kind!

My friend gave me one for my birthday and said she thought it would be ok as it's eco-friendly and I live on the coast. Like I can somehow guarantee it will be blown out to sea and dissolve harmlessly into the water

Malenky I bet she meant the bio degradable lanterns. I think they use a different sort of material inside which isn't so harmful to wildlife. Still bloody dangerous.

Two years ago at the campsite I was staying at people were letting them off - close to tents and a thatched cottage. There's now a sign at the campsite saying they're banned. So yes, it appears people do need to be told. Common sense appears not to come into it.

clanger - yeah, I know she did. We talked about it. She was burying her head in the sand about the fact that they are on fire and therefore can set things on fire. (irritated bolding due to her, not you!)

If you are near an airport or the coast, you are supposed to alert the airport or coastguard.

I can't believe that people still light them, but then there is no ban, so people might assume that they are ok. The Civil Aviation Authority has released guidelines but I would imagine that most of the public aren't aware of their guidance.

It's not just the fire or animals eating them. Birds get tangled in them m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-15439322

They should be banned. YANBU

They should be banned. YANBU

We had people setting them off at our campsite last year, very scary, flying fire and nylon homes do not mix.

Yanbu, I couldn't believe it week or 2 ago when the news was showing the worlds largest release of Chinese lanterns (cant remember where, possibly Thailand?), thousands of them, is happy tones with no mention of the dangers.

I can't believe that people still light them, but then there is no ban, so people might assume that they are ok.

That's exactly what I think MsGee because regardless of all the warnings that are out there for all the dangerous potential consequences, as they are not banned outright it is easy to assume that "well they cant be that bad, let's go for it."