'Patio heaters should be outlawed'

In the past few years, a public that increasingly holidays abroad has become smitten by the prospect of al-fresco living during the summer months. But Britons should resist the lure of the patio heater whatever the weather, environmentalists said yesterday. "They are hugely energy inefficient. Trying to heat the great outdoors is not going to be efficient," said Mary Rayner, of Ethical Consumer magazine. "Stick a jumper on."

Friends of the Earth reiterated its call for a ban on the heaters.

The smoking ban in England may increase their appeal. Half of all pubs in Scotland are thought to have bought a patio heater since a ban north of the border in March last year, and English pubs are expected to buy 40,000.

But the tide may be turning. Wyevale Garden Centres banned the heaters on environmental grounds earlier this year. And the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, urged cafe and pubs to "kick the patio heater habit."