Farmer warns of Chinese lantern risk

Though not wishing to be named, a local man who farms more than 200 acres of mixed arable and cattle land, said: "People who release these things at parties and weddings only think of how pretty they look in the night sky.

"What they forget is that if they later come to earth on a meadow cut for hay, or land in a corn field, they can start a massive fire and perhaps cost a farmer his livelihood by destroying his crops.

"And the wire used in their construction is another danger, as it can be ingested by cattle and sheep, seriously injuring or even killing them."

The farmer contacted the Bexhill Observer after finding several expired Chinese lanterns on his land.

He said: "People need to understand how potentially dangerous they can be."

The National Farmers' Union confirmed widespread worry about the lanterns, and the NFU Council is now lobbying the government for a total ban on the devices, as already exists in Germany and Australia.

NFU South East spokeswoman Isobel Bretherton said: "We are urging people to think twice before buying these flying lanterns and releasing them, attractive as they are.

"While the paper from a Chinese lantern will biodegrade, the fine wire frame does not, and unfortunately all too often these lanterns land on farmland.

"The wire can accidentally be eaten by animals, cattle in particular, and can cause an agonising, slow death."

In Cheshire last December, Sprite, a pedigree Red Poll valued at more than 1,000, died after ingesting the remnants of a lantern.

Wire pierced the cow's windpipe, resulting in swelling and death two days later.

Isobel added: "The NFU is also concerned that lanterns pose a fire risk - they have landed alight in fields of growing crops."