Wood, do you believe it? Only four fines are imposed by municipalities for illegal burning, despite a hundred complaints being filed per week

Complaints to municipalities about smoke pollution from wood-burning stoves have skyrocketed in the past twelve months, but no one has been prosecuted.

Trendy fireplaces have been making a comeback in recent years, with about 10 percent of households burning wood.

But research by parent campaign group Mums for Lungs has shown that 5,608 complaints are received every year by councils responding to freedom of information requests.

But despite more than 100 complaints a week, only four fines of around £300 have been issued.

Smoke pollution from burning wood has been linked to increasing the risk of cancer and respiratory diseases.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has called for the phasing out of wood burning to reduce the number of asthma cases in children.

Jemima Hartshorn from Mums for Lungs said: ‘If you open your door on a cold night in any town or village you can smell the wood pollution.

‘You wouldn’t want a truck pumping air pollution into your front room, but ironically even modern wood-burning stoves cause six times as much particulate matter pollution as a truck.

Despite more than 100 complaints a week, only four fines of around £300 have been issued by local councils

‘We have known about the health consequences of wood burning for decades. We need to ensure that municipalities are given the tools and resources to protect children from toxic pollution and not just talk about the risks.

‘The current system is clearly not fit for purpose.’

In Birmingham, 783 complaints have been made to the council, yet the council has not issued even a single enforcement notice or carried out an inspection.

Manchester City Council had 213 complaints but issued only seven warning letters, while Cheshire East had 141 complaints but did nothing.

By contrast, Bromley Council in south-east London has issued 275 enforcement letters and carried out around 135 inspections.

North Tyneside Council wrote 270 enforcement letters in the same period, the second highest in the country.

The government estimates that around 7.5 percent of British households rely on burning wood to heat around 2.1 million homes, although campaigners say this number is much higher in some parts of the country.

Only four of the 159 councils that responded to the requests said they had imposed a fine for burning wood: Bolsover, Bristol, Horsham and Wakefield.

St Helen’s Council said it had issued four abatement notices and Norwich City Council had issued a single community protection notice.

The only source of PM2.5 emissions that has increased since 2003 is household combustion, according to a recent report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS).

The figures include complaints filed about various forms of smoke pollution from wood burning in the home.

Domestic combustion is a major cause of toxic air pollution in Britain and the largest source of particulate matter (PM2.5).

In 2024, government data showed that wood burning was responsible for 22 percent of particulate pollution in Britain, compared to 18 percent from traffic.

RCPCH Clinical Fellow, Dr Alice Willson, said: ‘Burning wood releases harmful PM2.5 particles, which contribute significantly to indoor and outdoor pollution.

‘Many people are unaware of the serious health risks, especially for children whose developing lungs make them particularly vulnerable to all forms of air pollution.

‘In our recent position statement, we called for phasing out wood burning in urban areas to reduce air pollution.

“Taking steps like this will not only protect the health of children, but also the health of the planet.”