Forum Topic

Disposable BBQ being used on Chiswick Common

I Just can’t believe the Stupidity of People .

John Kennedy ● 53d37 Comments

I heard fireworks the night before last and thought exactly the same.  Or maybe that was actually a fire.Anyway it is a dangerous time to set off fireworks as well.  It certainly wasn't lightning which by itself can cause fire when the weather has been dry for as long as it has now.https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/fireworks/

Philippa Bond ● 53d

I would happily have thrown a bucket of water over it and dealt with the consequences later. Idiots

Georgina Flint ● 53d

myself and partner did say not great idea.Definitely won’t mention the words we were called .

John Kennedy ● 53d

This is what you are up against. Heritage steam railways are not using their steam trains because of the risk and this could be undone by BBQ's. Amazing really. However seeing is believing!

Nicholas Beard ● 53d

What with those pillocks there are also videos of people feeding and petting the Deer in Richmond Park. After all the warnings that they are wild animals that can be dangerous. There are notices everywhere in the park warning people not to disturb the animals and God alone knows how many reports on the T.V. about not doing this, yet I'll bet they'll be the first ones to complain if someone gets hurt. How can you protect idiots from themselves?

Vanessa Smith ● 52d

The council should put up some of those large “no bbqs, no fires’ signs at park/common entrances like they have in LBHF.  And enforce it.

David Turner ● 52d

Would never have thought this was allowed anyway.

Janice Evans ● 52d

https://extralondon.co.uk/fire/london-park-bbq-bans-tighten-amid-extreme-wildfire-risk-london-2026I understand the LFB have been campaigning against the foil ones as those are the ones that people just walk away from as they are too hot to handle.  Huge fires can be started by what look like dead embers being reignited by the breeze as they are blown away.

Philippa Bond ● 52d

Reminds me of the YouTube millionaire family of influencers who rented out a luxurious converted double-decker bus situated in woodlands in East Sussex. It had been on Amazing Spaces on CH4. Before they left to visit somewhere, they had a BBQ and pushed the tray under the decking in front of the bus. The rest is history. https://tinyurl.com/yxzjtbe4

Julian Pavey ● 52d

Deer in Richmond Park yes. However  more, down in the New Forest a pony has kicked someone. I wonder what they were doing near a pony. When I was there last there the ponies were just around. I didn't go near them.

Nicholas Beard ● 52d

I would have thought it would have been a good idea to call the police.

Richard Greenhough ● 52d

The London Borough of Hounslow has a permanent ban on barbecues in all of its parks and open spaces.Council Rules and Safety: Total Ban: You cannot use disposable barbecues or open fires in any public park or common managed by the London Borough of Hounslow.Reasons for the Rule: The council highlights that `“grass fires can spread quickly and cause serious damage.”, as noted by London Borough of Hounslow. Hot coals also ruin the grass, harm local wildlife, and risk public safety.

Julian Pavey ● 52d

Richard, don't call the police call for the fire service they can go down to the common and pump water at full pressure over the bbq and the twats that are using it.

Brian Green ● 52d

'Council Rules and Safety: Total Ban: You cannot use disposable barbecues or open fires in any public park or common managed by the London Borough of Hounslow.'Yes, that's great - but it is a well-known fact that you cannot legislate for prats and morons!

Vanessa Smith ● 52d

So this ban info is posted where?If on the council website, then perhaps the general public aren't the only prats and morons.

David Lesniak ● 51d

'So this ban info is posted where?If on the council website, then perhaps the general public aren't the only prats and morons.'Unless you've been living under a stone, there have been so many warnings on the television and all over the place lately about the dangers of disposable BBQs, cigarette ends, glass bottles etc. that can contribute to starting a wildfire in these conditions. Apart from which common sense should surely play a part? Just because someone hasn't seen a notice regarding this is hardly an excuse? I certainly have seen notices put up by LBH locally, perhaps common sense isn't so common after all?

Vanessa Smith ● 51d

That kinda answers my point, Vanessa.Not everyone gets their info from the same source. Not everyone reads/watches the news. Many simply ignore the news. If LBH et al are truly serious about warning people, there would be large, impactful signage repeatedly posted at the perimeter and throughout the parks. I can't say I've seen that personally. But I can tell you, from experience, people will ignore signs put under their noses. That's a given.

David Lesniak ● 51d

'But I can tell you, from experience, people will ignore signs put under their noses. That's a given'On that we DO agree - how do you protect people from themselves?

Vanessa Smith ● 51d

"how do you protect people from themselves?"You can't. But you can poke fun at them when they post a bogus negative review on Yelp. That's always fun.

David Lesniak ● 50d

That is exactly why there are huge fines for what some think are minor and innocent offences but which may be so but on the other hand may not be quite so innocent.  We should also remember that there are also some who thrive on publicity.There's a £1,000 fine for breaching the hosepipe ban too.You can't just claim that ignorance is an excuse for everything you don't know or don't bother or refuse to find out!  That doesn't mean that there isn't room for ALL Councils to do better - online for when people Google or on the gates of parks and around/on recycling banks and litter bins!

Philippa Bond ● 50d

Major retail outlets and supermarkets have removed disposable BBQs from sale.Which of course still leaves plenty of garage forecourts and corner shops for those who really don't give a stuff....

Bruce Hammal ● 50d

That's great news if major retail outlets and supermarkets have removed them from sale but there may still be some already tucked away ready to use unfortunately so more notices about the current increased fire risks would still be a useful warning.

Philippa Bond ● 50d

You can't just claim that ignorance is an excuse for everything you don't know or don't bother or refuse to find out! What are you going on about, Philippa?People aren't ignorant if their isn't info available for them to see. That is called inept or inefficient on the part of the council and appropriate authorities if they haven't advertised accordingly given the circumstance. Yet another box-ticking exercise of putting info on a website is insufficient. Plenty of well-intentioned people aren't going to access a website prior to a park visit. News feeds on phones are determined by algorithm and use. So highly likely any bulletin will also be missed. It reminds me of the idiotic policy with regard to e-scooters. Illegal yet on sale. Illegal yet seen on the roads. Illegal yet not prosecuted. That's the message being sent. And the pattern encouraged. Plenty of evidence suggesting it is legal.Not sure what your point is about "thriving on publicity."

David Lesniak ● 50d

You can't cater for the degree of stupidity that some people exhibit. The council shouldn't need to put up signs when it is obvious already. The sort of people who do these acts wouldn't read the signs or ignore them anyway.

david ward ● 50d

Spot on - you cannot legislate for idiots, and you have to wonder if half of them can actually read too. But, there seems to be this mindset that rules are for others to follow, whilst those twerps who break them sail merrily on without a care in the world or any regard for other people.

Vanessa Smith ● 49d

David  Didn't you read the last para?  Although I admit I could have been a bit clearer and put an AND on park gates/litter bins etc.How do most people get info?  I don't think they get their first info would be from looking up a website that they don't know the web address for when they often don't even know which Council they are living under or are working in or visiting.  Councils should be able to talk to each other and get standard notices sorted out for some things through LARAC or the Mayor of London/LFB etc

Philippa Bond ● 49d

Unfortunately many people just don't engage their brains. But worse many don't seem to see why they should be stopped from doing anything they fancy wherever and whenever they want.They would need to be pictograms.  Even then many (like me) can't always read those...  What's that pictogram of a lady lying on her back in the road mean?  Oh uneven road.

Philippa Bond ● 49d

If a thing is so obviously dangerous, then it shouldn't be for sale, just like unhealthy food.As it is, we're hectored about behaving and eating sensibly and avoiding this and not eating that when the profiteering companies should just be banned from selling them.

Peter Evans ● 49d

If signs are posted, that's one deterrent. Ish.Is there a penalty posted?

David Lesniak ● 49d

You can put up as many ugly and intrusive signs as you like but if there is no one to enforce adherence then they are a wste of time and money.Does anyone think that reporting on 101 someone who using a bbq will really get a police response any time soon?

Keith Iddon ● 48d

would be easier to just ban them in drought conditions, then no shops can sell them.

Janice Evans ● 48d

Also not to use any barbecue on wood decking.

Janice Evans ● 48d

It's not just wood decking where the things are unsafe - they can also cause injury when used on the beach - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq56q297d6do

Richard Greenhough ● 47d

Good they are banned now along with any fire pits or fireworks, any fires at all.

Janice Evans ● 39d

We might have to start having Fire Risk Assessments for urban open spaces.  I gather one of the fires in the Midlands that destroyed several houses started in a neighbouring golf course, presumably spreading through the undergrowth, bushes and trees that bordered the houses.  To what extent would a fire on their land be their fault, such that, for example, they should have had a cleared fire break zone bordering the houses?

Peter Evans ● 38d

I've known fires to start in places with high rise flats where BBQs have been lit on the balconies and the curtains have caught fire with the consequent fast spread of fire which can be difficult to deal with.

Philippa Bond ● 38d

Believe ban is still in place, even though we have had rain, ground still very dry in areas.

Janice Evans ● 25d