People celebrating Chinese New Year are being urged to be aware of the dangers of sky lanterns.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said Chinese lanterns have been blamed for causing several fires in recent years and false flare alarms near the coast.

Sheila Merrill, RoSPA’s public health adviser, said: “If families are using sky lanterns, we recommend checking the weather forecast as they should not be launched if the wind speed is 5mph or more, and always choose the location very wisely.

“We urge people not to use sky lanterns near built-up areas, roads, crops, hay bales, trees, power lines, airports or the coast.”

Safety advice on Chinese lanterns can be found at the RoSPA website.