My name is Lexie Stephenson and I am 18 years old.

I started this petition when I was around 8 years old to ban the sale and use of floating lanterns - sometimes called Chinese lanterns - because I love nature and I believe that they are a hazard to wildlife, farmyard animals and many other things like camping activities, outbuildings and sheds, thatched houses, hedges, fields and any other flammable materials.

There is evidence online of the devastation caused in the West Midlands to a plastic recycling company which required 200+ firefighters and 39 fire engines to bring it under control.

The lanterns as beautiful as they are; float through the sky with no control where they may land. They can set things on fire very easily and can cause really bad injuries to animals with the wire or bamboo frames getting tangled up.

I live in Gloucestershire and have written to both Tewkesbury Borough Council and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service. They have both replied to me and have given full support and back this campaign.

If we do nothing about these dangerous lanterns we will see a lot more harm come to animals and our countryside.

Many thanks for reading this petition and i hope you agree with me enough to sign it.

Thank you

Lexie