Pub patio heaters face ban

Pub patio heaters are set to be banned - because European MPs believe they are not environmentally friendly.

Smokers face being left in the cold and breweries with a bill for millions of pounds if the Euro MPs vote to ban the heaters.

They were today expected to back a resolution calling for a timetable to be drawn up for the heaters to be removed. The ruling could spell ruin for hundreds of pubs across the West Midlands and Staffordshire.

Wolverhampton-based Banks's brewer Marston's spent £20 million alone bringing in outdoor heaters and special patio areas outside pubs to counter the smoking ban which came into force last July.

The Euro MPs want to ban gas heaters. Today's motion specifically names outdoor pub heaters, although any ruling could also affect garden heaters sold at DIY stores.

Peter Dalzell, operations director for Marston's Inns and Taverns, said it would be considering its options. Marston's says more than 90 per cent of its pubs have gardens or patio areas. Enterprise Inns of Solihull, M&B in Birmingham and Punch Taverns in Staffordshire have also spent millions of pounds on outdoor heaters.

Brewery analysts today warned a ban could cost the industry up to £250 million each year.

And climate change expert Dr Eric Johnson said today the impact of heaters on global warming was "minimal".

By Business Editor Jim Walsh