BANNING the sale of disposable barbecues at Co-ops in the Lake District has been welcomed by a parish council who saw a hug issue with illegal camping and fire pits last summer.

People bringing disposable barbecues to the Lakes have not been disposing of them, and littering the National Park with the non-biodegradable products.

Skelwith Parish Council have seen these issues first-hand alongside illegal camping, fly-tipping, and use of fire pits in Hodge Close and the surrounding area.

Suzanne Pender, clerk of the council, said: "This is something we welcome, and it is very responsible of Co-op to take action on this issue in national parks.

"We have a management plan in place here now but there are still some issues, but it is not as bad as it was last year.

"This is why we support this approach form Co-op and hope other big brands follow suit in what is a step in the right direction."

This move by Co-op came after pressure from the Lakes Plastic Collective who addressed the issue.

Nicola Bolton, founder of the Lakes Plastic Collective, a litter picking group, said the mess is worse than ever.

“People don’t know how to dispose of them properly,” she said. “Either people don’t care, or they don’t read the instructions.

“It started in May 2020, and I think the government making everyone stay in the country is partly to blame. They need to promote good behaviour outside which is what the government is failing at doing massively.”

As a result of the mess, a writer from Cumbria has written to the Co-op and asked them to reconsider their sale of the products that people are using to litter the area.

Hannah Mitchell, the writer of the letter, said: “I was working for the Co-op up until about a month ago.

“We had a lot of first-time visitors to the Lakes, and we had a lot of anti-social behaviour associated with the barbecues.

“The Co-op put up notices for safe disposal of their products, but the problem is still going on so I wrote a letter to ask them to stop selling them.

“I managed to get the letter signed from Lakes Plastic Collective and the British Mountaineering Council; I also got support from Tim Farron MP.

“I imagine this sentiment is felt by other rural communities as well.

“I think the term ‘disposable’ is problematic.

“The response that I have had is that they are reviewing the resupply of those products.

“In the New Forest National Park they have stopped selling them, and the Co-op have also said they are reviewing the resupply of these products in the shops that are within one mile of National Parks.

“Credit where credit is due to the Co-op.

“It is a really positive step in the right direction.”