Woodburning stove could leave you with a £300 penalty or criminal record under new regulations- is yours going to land you with a fine?

• Household appliance causes concern over the dangerous particles it produces
• Emissions of PM2.5 have increased by 35 per cent between 2010 and 2020

A million Brits who own wood-burning stoves could be fined £300 and even face a criminal record if they misuse them and break air pollution rules.

The household appliances, which have become popular in recent years as something of a middle-class status symbol, are causing ministers concerns over the dangerous particles they produce.

Emissions of PM2.5 – one of the most harmful types of air pollution – have increased by 35 per cent between 2010 and 2020.

But local authorities have struggled to enforce smoke control rules and provide evidence against homeowners that could lead to a conviction in court.

A million Brits who own wood-burning stoves could be fined £300 and even face a criminal record if they misuse them and break air pollution rules

Just 17 fines have been issued by councils over six years, despite some 18,000 complaints being made by locals. 

As a result, the government is looking to crack down on the stoves and has told council chiefs to look at imposing on-the-spot civil penalties, which could be as much as £300.

Criminal prosecutions could be pursued for the most persistent offenders, resulting in a fine of up to £5,000 plus a further £2,500 for each day a breach continues afterwards. 

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey told the Times there were no plans to ban wood-burning stoves or open fires altogether, but admitted many owners didn’t understand the effects on the environment.

‘I want an educational approach. We want people to do the right thing,’ she said.

However, ClientEarth, which has won pollution cases against the government, called for domestic burning to be phased out. 

Andrea Lee, from the charity, said: ‘Pollution from wood-burning is a growing source of fine particulate matter pollution in some areas, which is a serious threat to people’s health.’

Academics have hailed the push for enforcement but fear councils don’t have the resources to actually implement the plan.

Professor Frank Kelly at Imperial College London said: ‘If you report that you’ve walked past a property and you can see smoke coming out of a chimney when there shouldn’t be, it’s very, very unlikely that an enforcement officer is going to turn up at that door and do anything. 

‘It’s down to the local council to enforce them and they haven’t got the manpower to do it.’

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