AS the wedding season gets in full swing calls are being made for tighter controls - and even a possible ban - on the construction and use of Chinese lanterns.

The wire framed lanterns – which lift into the air with a lighted candle inside them – have become a popular addition to festivities.

But experts at the Country Land and Business Association in North Yorkshire say they pose a threat to livestock and to standing crops.

They point out that the wire frames fall to earth once the paper around them has burned away - and with sales of the lanterns reported to have reached 100,000 last year the CLA say they represent an immense potential for damage.

"At this time of year we are approaching silage and hay-making time – if the wire frames from these lanterns get into livestock feed it would pose a threat to animals and could cause them serious injury or death," said CLA regional director, Dorothy Fairburn.

She said the fire risk to standing crops of corn and to hay and straw barns was also very worrying.

"Chinese lanterns may be romantic and may look very pretty, but people who propose to celebrate their marriage by sending them off into the sky should understand the potential fire and animal health threat they are releasing.

"We think this is a genuine health and safety issue.

"Biodegradable frames have been suggested as an alternative to wire – but whatever manufacturers do they cannot eliminate the fire risk and that, in itself, surely poses sufficient threat to justify banning the use of these lanterns," she added.