Fire chief welcomes moves to reopen Northamptonshire's tips after rise in bonfires

Northamptonshire's fire chief has welcomed moves to reopen the county's recycling centres after a spike in bonfires across the county.

Yesterday, it was announced that Northamptonshire's tips were set to open to the public "in the coming weeks".

The nine sites in Brixworth, Corby, Daventry, Kettering, Northampton (Ecton Lane and Sixfields), Rushden, Towcester and Wellingborough were closed by Northamptonshire County Council on March 24 as part of measures to try and stop the spread of coronavirus.

However, Government minister Robert Jenrick told the House of Commons on Tuesday he wanted councils to re-open them and yesterday afternoon the county authority said plans to do so were in place.

Earlier during lockdown, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service issued a warning after firefighters were called to four bonfire blazes in one 24-hour period with people resorting to burning waste as they could not get to a tip.

Speaking at the time, prevention team Leader Darren Carson said: “We are urging people to please be careful if attempting to set up a bonfire.

“We would encourage people not to have these fires if possible but, if they do continue to have them, they should be sited well away from anything that could possibly ignite.

“Caution should also be exercised in the kinds of materials used as some items can be dangerous to burn and could give off toxic fumes or produce significant smoke plumes which result in a call to the fire service anyway.”

And last night, Wednesday, chief fire officer Darren Way welcomed the move to reopen recycling centres.

"This is good news as we have seen an increase in bonfires getting out of control as people burn garden waste at home," he said.