VISITORS to East Lothian’s coastline are being urged to dispose of their barbecues responsibly or run the risk of people suffering serious burns.

East Lothian Council Countryside Rangers have highlighted the dangers of disposal barbecues to both the environment and people.

A spokesperson for the group said: “When not appropriately raised off the sand, the heat from the barbecues penetrates into the sand and heats it up.

“Using a thermal imaging camera, we discovered that the sand underneath a disposable barbecue reached temperatures of up to 320°C immediately after a hot barbecue was moved.

“With no water used to cool this area, the temperature of the sand was recorded as 141°C after five minutes and 86°C after 10 minutes.

“Two seconds’ contact with 60°C heat will cause a third-degree burn (the type that generally will require a skin graft as part of treatment).

“After 30 minutes and pouring water over the sand, we dug down 10cm and recorded a temperature of 37°C, showing how the heat penetrates and is held in the sand.”

The countryside rangers also pointed out that putting sand on a disposable barbecue would not extinguish it and cool it down.

They added: “We trialled putting sand over a disposable barbecue and discovered that, although it initially cooled it, it began to heat up again as the sand insulated the heat of the coals. Water is the only safe and effective way to extinguish a disposable barbecue (and cool the sand underneath it).

“When fully extinguished and cooled, the disposable barbecue can be disposed of in the appropriate bin or taken home if no bins are available.

“Please only use a disposable barbecue on the beach if you have no other option.”