A COUNCIL has banned the use of sky lanterns on their land.

After discussions with RSPCA Cymru, Torfaen County Borough Council has decided to ban the lanterns that can kill or harm animals.

Paul Smith, RSPCA Cymru’s public affairs manager, said: “It’s fantastic news that Torfaen council has become the latest local authority to ban sky lanterns, and RSPCA Cymru was pleased to work closely with them to help achieve this.

“An outright ban on sky lanterns, which can cause injury, suffering, and death to animals, remains our primary objective. We’d love to see the Welsh Government bringing forward proposals to achieve that in Wales.”

The leader of Torfaen council, councillor Anthony Hunt, said: “For some time we have recognised the dangers associated with the use of sky lanterns. We have responded to the growing expectation for local authorities to ban the release of sky lanterns and massed balloons from council owned land and have asked our school governing bodies to adopt this policy.”