Fire warning not to take barbecues and cookers into parks as heatwave looms
With a heatwave set to hit the West Midlands this week residents have been given a reminder that barbecues and portable cookers are not allowed in their parks and open spaces.
The warning follows a small fire at Dartmouth Park in West Bromwich on August 4.
Sandwell Council has also moved to remind visitors to use the bins provided or take rubbish home with them to prevent litter from becoming a fire hazard.
Councillor Laura Rollins, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Tourism said: "We are sad to report there has been a small fire at Dartmouth Park, affecting a grassed area.
"We are grateful for the swift action of our green services team for reporting this and to West Midlands Fire Service who quickly got the fire under control and extinguished.
"We don't yet know the cause, this is being investigated by the fire service.
"This is a time to remind all visitors to Sandwell Valley and any of our parks and green spaces that barbecues and portable cookers are not allowed.
"Rubbish should always be disposed of in bins, or taken away, leaving our green spaces clean and litter free. We have recently increased our patrols in a number of our parks and nature reserves.
"We have seen the devastation of fires recently at Lickey Hills and across London and must do all we can to prevent this in our beautiful green spaces."
The warning is timely given a heatwave is expected across the region in the coming days, and the council is expecting more visitors to its parks during this time.
Forecasters say another heatwave will hit the West Midlands this week and it is set to last longer than the one that smashed temperature records earlier this summer, though the peak temperature will not be as high as the record-breaking 40.3C reached in England last month.
