Every year in the UK, 1,700 farm buildings and 66,000 acres of grassland are destroyed by fire.
Some simple steps can keep our countryside and farms safe.
Click on the Love Our Countryside poster to download it.
Campers and ramblers
- Avoid using open fires in the countryside
- Sunlight shining through glass can start large fires - take glass bottles/jars home or put them in a waste or recycling bin
- Keep young children and ball games away from barbecues
- Extinguish cigarettes and other smoking materials properly
- Only use barbecues in suitable and safe areas and never leave them unattended
- Ensure that your barbecue is fully extinguished and cold before disposing of the contents
- Only camp and picnic in designated areas
- Obey safety signs
- Never throw cigarette ends out of car windows - they can ruin whole fields of crops
If a fire breaks out
If a fire breaks out, call 999 immediately.
It can be hard to give the location for an open area so mention any landmarks, such as a public house or a church in the vicinity.
Don't tackle fires yourself. Always leave it to the professionals.
The Countryside Code
The Countryside Code contains advice for the public and landowners.
It has information about rights, responsibilities and liabilities and how we all have a duty to protect the countryside. Together with common sense, it helps to make it easy for visitors to act responsibly and identify possible dangers.
