Kent borough council receives 127 complaints about wood burners in a year - amid health risk fears
Campaigners warn families are at risk from toxic smoke with enforcement over wood burners almost non-existent
Last updated 24th Oct 2025
Kent has seen hundreds of complaints about harmful smoke from wood burning in the last year, as campaigners say families are being put at risk by weak air pollution laws and poor enforcement.
New figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show there were more than 15,000 complaints about wood burning across England between 2022 and 2024, but only 24 fines were handed out.
According to the data, people would have to complain on average around 630 times before a single fine is imposed.
Swale Borough Council, which covers a large part of North Kent, received 127 complaints from residents during the period, and issued just 34 warning letters.
Campaigners are calling on central government to give stronger enforcement measures to local authorities stronger such as Swale.
Smoke control laws under scrutiny
The surge in complaints has come mainly from Smoke Control Areas—parts of towns where rules are supposed to limit harmful emissions from burning wood or coal indoors. The number of complaints from these zones has risen by 65% in just one year, from 5,600 to more than 9,200, despite limits intended to protect public health.
But campaign group Mums for Lungs says national air pollution laws are too weak and difficult to enforce, leaving families to ‘choke in silence’ as harmful smoke drifts into homes and communities.
Jemima Hartshorn, founder of Mums for Lungs, said:
“The Government claims to have world-leading laws on air pollution, but they are meaningless if they are not enforced. Families across the country are suffering from neighbours’ burning, yet even after thousands of complaints, barely a handful of fines have been issued. This is a public health failure hiding in plain sight and it is making us sick: people are being left to choke in silence.”
Health concerns for children and non-smokers
Doctors and public health experts are raising the alarm about the effects of wood smoke, noting a rise in people with lung cancer who have never smoked and increasing cases in young women. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is calling for domestic wood burning to be phased out in urban areas, warning air pollution is now the second leading cause of death in under-fives in the UK.
Dr Sinead Millward, NHS GP from Levenshulme, said:
"As a GP, I’m regularly seeing the effects of air pollution in my patients - unfortunately I see it often in children. It's deeply frustrating to watch more and more young people developing asthma, lung infections, and long-term respiratory issues, triggered or worsened by air pollution including exposure to fine particles from wood smoke. These particles penetrate deep into growing lungs, and there is no safe level of exposure for children. If we’re serious about protecting our most vulnerable, we must take action on wood burning in our communities."
New research from University College London has linked using wood burners to faster declines in lung function, with people living in homes using solid fuels experiencing more rapid reductions in their lung capacity.
Wood burners as major polluters
Even newer wood burning stoves, which are frequently advertised as safer or more environmentally friendly, still emit far higher levels of pollution than alternative heating sources. Experts say ‘Ecodesign’ stoves produce 450 times more PM2.5 particles—tiny particles that can lodge deep in the lungs—than a gas boiler, and open fires emit up to 4,000 times more. PM2.5 pollution is linked to heart and lung disease, strokes, dementia and cancer, with up to 36,000 premature deaths in the UK a year blamed on man-made air pollution.
Campaigners point out that progress is slow. Nearly three years after the Government pledged to tighten stove emission rules in its Environmental Improvement Plan, new legislation has still not been introduced. Although a rapid review of the plan was completed by January 2025, nothing has yet been published.
Mums for Lungs is now calling for the Government to phase out domestic wood burning, stop classifying stoves as “DEFRA-exempt” or “DEFRA-approved,” and run a public health campaign asking people not to burn wood at home.
The group is also approaching local councils in Kent and elsewhere, urging them to warn people about the risks associated with wood burning smoke.
We've contacted Swale Borough Council for comment.