DISPOSABLE barbecues have caused a big problem for the Lake District.

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

Nicola Bolton, founder of the Lakes Plastic Collective, a litter picking group, has been picking litter from the area for a while now, and has said the mess is worse than ever: "People don't know how to dispose of them properly, 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 form Cumbria has written to the Coop 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 Coop 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 Coop 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 'disposble' 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 ave stopped selling them, and the Coop 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 Coop.

"It is a really positive step in the right direction."