I was intrigued to read the front page of the EADT this Thursday which featured yet another call to ban sky lanterns. You know the things that look like mini hot air balloons when they’re released into the sky. On the face of it they seem quite harmless as they drift off into the sky, but they are anything but.

I’m not usually one to say things should be banned but on this occasion I do. I don’t want to be some sort of killjoy, spoiling people’s fun or in this case stopping people remembering a loved one but I think we should call time on them.

Over the years I’ve let off dozens of them, usually into the night sky at New Year and occasionally on Guy Fawkes night. They do look beautiful as they ascend but of course they have a flame which heats the air and makes it float upwards. The thing is you never know where they will come down, the flame and heat could cause a fire, especially now with our fields full of crops. In Suffolk we have more than our fair share of thatched buildings and one of these landing on one could easily spark a fire. Suffolk Fire and Rescue are not keen on them, and neither are farmers.

On one occasion at New Year, we set one off and it just didn’t rise and landed on the head of my good friend Ray! Thankfully no harm was done but it could have

really hurt him. It was at that moment when I thought enough is enough.

The RSPCA has concerns too. It’s not just the fire aspect that worries them but also the wire frame which can injure animals. They can become entangled in the wire or in some cases ingest it in feed stuffs.

Some of our councils in England including East Suffolk council have already banned them from being released on their land. There is also a petition doing the rounds to get them banned too, so there’s quite a strong feeling against them. They are a reactively new phenomenon in this country but in China they’ve been around for 2000 years. Today they are used during lantern festivals to bring good luck, but they were originally used in war time to deliver messages.

Some Asian countries like Vietnam have banned them recently because of the fire risk. With much of the northern hemisphere baking in record temperatures I think it makes sense for other countries to follow suit.

I think we’ve got the message about balloon releases now; we all know the danger they can pose to animals, birds, and marine life. I used to see lots on the beach here in Felixstowe but not anymore.

So hopefully we will see sense about these sky lanterns. It’s a shame because they are beautiful and

serene to watch but now we know the potential dangers the pose, it’s time to ban them. It may also make for fewer UFO sightings too!

As ever I’d be interested in your thoughts on this, so why not get in contact via the EADT letters page