Sir — With reference to Liam Creedon’s excellent article on the dangers of Chinese sky lanterns, in your Weekend country page (September 27), I wrote to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in January 2011, making the same points about these dangerous toys.
I reminded him that these paper-and-wire hot-air balloons are fuelled by a naked flame and, because their landing place is completely uncontrolled, they are a fire risk, as well as a danger to livestock and wildlife.
They have already burned field crops, notably in his own Oxfordshire constituency, where 2.5 hectares of barley were destroyed in 2010. I told him that, as owners of a thatched cottage, we wished to join with the NFU, the Fire Service, the Civil Aviation Authority and the RSPCA in urging a complete ban on the sale and use of these sky lanterns.
In his reply, Mr Cameron acknowledged my concerns, and said that something should be done about the problem. Clearly, lucrative trade with China wins out over domestic concerns for animal and human welfare as, so far, it seems my letter has had no effect on our Government.
Perhaps Liam Creedon’s article will have more success in raising public awareness of these dangerous lanterns, before houses, crops, wildlife and even human lives are lost or damaged.
Elizabeth Seager, North Leigh
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