CHINESE LANTERNS...they are a flipping danger

[tintinthegingertomcat]

I have been saying for years that although these Chinese lanterns look beautiful in the night sky.....they were an accident waiting to happen. Now in the West Midlands (Smethwick) a recycling plant has gone up in flames (made national news yesterday morning) with approx. six million pounds worth of damage....the cause.....Chinese lantern.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT BUY AND RELEASE THESE LANTERNS.....NEXT TIME IT COULD BE A HOUSE WITH PEOPLE ASLEEP IN OR A BARN WITH ANIMALS IN....OR IN THE CASE OF THIS FACTORY MILLIONS OF POUNDS WORTH OF DAMAGE PUTTING PEOPLES LIVES AND JOBS AT RISK.

Could you all try and get others you know to stop buying and releasing these lanterns.

Many thanks

[mitzigirl_123]

Hear hear!

Can we ban fireworks as well please!

[geographically*challenged]

Fully agree wit you there tintinthegingertomcat. They are a danger.

f it wasnt just that dreadful fire its been known thay blinded someone years a go,.

One tipped as it flew over some people and a younng person got blinded from the wax spilling out over the child.

HIGHLY DANGEROUS.

*DO NOT USE EVER*

[electric*mayhem*band]

There's already has been a call for these twenty pence firebombs to be banned. Who in their right mind sends a lighted candle floating up in the air and at the mercy of the wind, with no idea of where it's going to land ?

Sheer lunacy !

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/smethwick-fire-call-ban-20p-2014928

[electric*mayhem*band]

* delete recalcitrant apostrophe 's' * :_|

[polyhedric]

* delete recalcitrant apostrophe 's' * :_|

Why?

There's = There is

It's = It is

[polyhedric]

Sorry posted too soon. the apostrophe in "recalcitrant apostrophe 's" is, however wrong:-D

[bankhaunter]

I can't understand why they were ever thought of as a good idea.

As said earlier setting fire to something and then letting it float off to goodness knows where with no control of any sort, borders on complete irresponsibility.

[electric*mayhem*band]

Poly...'There's already has' is grammatically incorrect. I have no desire to be stoned by the pedants.

Moving on...

[mitzigirl_123]

               

[tuckerbigdaddy5ngv]

Couldn't have been using the eco friendly  type 😐

[Anonymous]

pure madness, such a stupid concept, just what makes a rational person want to release an incendiary device? but why stop at these lanterns, fireworks surly fall under the same category.

[polyhedric]

Poly...'There's already has' is grammatically incorrect. I have no desire to be stoned by the pedants.

Moving on...

Yes, I have to admit I missed that.

No stoning intended, good heavens if  I was part of the "pedantry", I would be a busy bee indeed;-)

[cee-dee]

At one time "home" fireworks were quite entertaining but these days they seem to be massive explosive devices?

They've gone too far, time they were more rigidly controlled because now they're more of a nuisance than entertaining.

[sir_arthur_strebe-grebling]

Chinese lanterns are already banned in many other countries and should be here: there is no reason why chavs should be allowed to fill our skies with burning objects at every opportunity.

As well as the fire hazard, they have killed many farm animals through the debris they scatter across the countryside.

[joe_bloggs*]

Bit ironic really,but i read a while ago some cities in China were thinking of banning them

[bankhaunter]

I cannot think of any other activity which is comparable to the release of the lanterns, the nearest would be setting off fireworks but even the biggest rockets don't land very far from their launch point.

As for the litter not mattering as it's supposed to be biodegradable, well newspaper is biodegradable but if I went to the top of a hill in a strong wind and let the pages from a newspaper blow away over the surrounding land, I would no doubt be condemned for doing so.

[tuckerbigdaddy5ngv]

Are these genuine Chinese lanterns or cheap British knockoffs ??:|

[electric*mayhem*band]

It matters not a jot if they're from China, Timbuktu, or Middle Earth, they're a danger and a menace. Weddings, Birthdays, Christenings, Carnivals, Bar Mitzvahs etc, the rate these contraptions are being used, come the day our National Forests, Woodlands, Heathlands could be reduced to charcoal.

It's possible to direct the position of a firework to some extent - plus they don't have the range - but these incendiaries are left to the vagaries of the prevailing winds, so can crash land anywhere. The frame is made of wire (so they're not biodegradable), and it's this that's proving to be detrimental to wildlife and farming stock. The sooner there is an outright ban on these monstrosities, the better. But I think our lot of incumbent buffoons have vetoed that idea.

[mcruk]

just did a search and 138  New year's lantern on UK site 2024 will it ever be a forbidden item like 18650 lithium batteries ?