At Westcombes, we’ve seen a huge increase in the popularity of wood-burning stoves in recent years, especially now that there’s a wider selection of fires approved by Defra to burn wood in London’s smokeless zone.
It’s not just that the stoves look attractive; with hugely increased bills for gas, electricity and oil, a wood-burning stove can make economic sense too. Now apparently in some parts of the countryside this has led to a resulting increase in timber thefts which is in turn affecting the revenue of woodland charities who rely on timber sales for income. Conservationists say the thieves are often putting their own safety at risk too as they don’t know how to fell trees properly or use the right safety equipment. They also suggest that sometimes people don’t realise that taking logs from wood stacks in forests or at roadsides is an offence.
Of course, the other point to bear in mind about these stolen logs is that they are freshly cut and usually very damp. In order to burn successfully, logs need to be seasoned, or dried. If you need supplies of logs, at Westcombes we stock kiln dried logs which are ideal for all wood-burning stoves.
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