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Andy Burnham has urged members of the public not to light fires in \u201ctinderbox\u201d Britain, ahead of a meeting with farmers whom he warned are \u201cat the sharp end of a changing climate\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister is set to unveil a \u00a365 million funding package for farmers at the weekend, amid fears hot, dry weather could drive up food prices on supermarket shelves.<\/p>\n
His announcement will follow his visit to Stourbridge in the West Midlands, where a wildfire spread across more than 500 acres and destroyed 19 homes earlier this week.<\/p>\n
In the town, he announced a temporary ban on disposable barbecues, and he later urged home cooks and gardeners to \u201ctake extra care\u201d by not lighting any fires \u201cin gardens, the countryside or other open spaces, including parks, moorland and wooded areas\u201d.<\/p>\n
Millions of people in England and Wales received an alert on their mobile devices on Friday evening, warning them of \u201ca very high risk of wildfires nationally\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Burnham said the emergency alert system was triggered at the request of fire and rescue officers.<\/p>\n
Friday was provisionally a record-breaking 10th day in 2026 where temperatures have exceeded 35C or more, according to the Met Office.<\/p>\n
Frittenden, near Ashford in Kent, was among the hottest places, where temperatures reached 35.3C.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister is expected to tell farmers in South West England that \u201cthe ability to grow our own food is national security\u201d and will promise to \u201ctreat it that way\u201d.<\/p>\n
He will also say \u201cfarmers are at the sharp end of a changing climate, and they should not be carrying that risk alone\u201d and that he understands the impact of \u201clower income, higher costs, and no rain in the forecast\u201d.<\/p>\n
The new funding package will go towards supporting environmentally friendly food production methods through the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), with an extra \u00a350 million for this year\u2019s pot \u2013 bringing the total SFI budget to \u00a3290 million.<\/p>\n
PM sends heatwave wildfire mobile phone alerts to millions as London frazzles in 34C<\/p>\n
Huge wildfire in West Midlands destroys 19 homes on UK\u2019s hottest day of year<\/p>\n