6 top tips for better bonfires

Watch out for wildlife

Never burn a stack of woody material built up over weeks – it will be difficult to light and may have wildlife sheltering inside. Instead, build dry stacks near your planned burn site, later moving these piecemeal onto your fire once it is blazing. Alternatively, transfer material over on the day it’s to be burnt.

Safeguard your garden and house

Prior to lighting a bonfire (or fireworks), use a hose with a fine spray to wet all valued plants nearby and downwind. Give a good soaking to any flammable materials such as dead leaves and evergreens, and dampen wooden fences and gutters that may be full of dry moss.

Start your fire safely

Ideally, begin by lighting a small fire, using the driest material you have. Then, once this is burning well, add the rest of the material from your nearby stack. Failing that, you can build a small, easy-to-light pile underneath a stacked bonfire, then light this using a ball of rolled-up paper (or newspaper) on a stick.

Keep pets safe

If you are having a bonfire – or know that one of your neighbours is – before you start ensure that any pets have been shut indoors somewhere safe and suitable. That way, you will know exactly where they are. If fireworks are also planned, it is a good idea to leave a radio playing at a loud volume, to help cover the noise.

Know what not to burn

Do not attempt to burn anything green or wet as this will simply smoulder and smoke, and annoy your neighbours. Never burn metal or glass, painted, preserved or treated wood, and especially not rubber, foam or plastic – these give off toxic substances that are dangerous to us and to wildlife.

Make good use of ash

As soon as the ashes from your bonfire have cooled, bag them and store in a dry place. These are an excellent source of potassium, calcium and other minerals, and during the growing season they should be sprinkled on the vegetable bed, around gooseberries and cooking apples, and on the compost heap.