The government has issued a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues as they pose a “significant risk to the public” due to the heatwave conditions, according to advice published online.

The single-use grills “have been the cause of a number of serious wildfires across the country over the summer months”, advice published online by the government said.

It added: “Disposable barbecues cannot be considered a safe product in the context of the ongoing weather and environmental conditions and must not be made available for sale either in store or online at the current time.”

The announcement comes days after prime minister Andy Burnham said he was urging "all retailers big and small" to adhere to voluntary guidance to suspend sales of disposable barbecues during extreme heat.

It followed a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee, convened to coordinate the response to the prolonged spell of hot and dry weather.

Mr Burnham previously said: "The big risk in terms of risk to the wider regions across the country is the risk of wildfires. What we are seeing is multiple serious incidents across the country.

"Fire services, by and large, are supporting each other through mutual aid to deal with those incidents but we are keeping a very close watching brief on them.

"There is advice to the public here not to use disposable barbecues. We have today confirmed through the National Fire Chiefs Council that the framework restricting the retail sale of those disposable barbecues is being extended. Now I would ask all retailers big and small to adhere to that framework.

"Longer term we will look at whether a temporary ban in the summer months is justified."

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