LOCALS living in a real-life Harry Potter village say hordes of tourists are putting their lives in danger.
Residents in the small town of Lavenham, Suffolk, are furious after crowds of Potter lovers keep being lighting BBQs in gardens and fields.
Fans flock to the area, just east of Cambridge, every year after scenes in the multi-billion pound franchise were shot there.
It’s become a magnet for Hogwarts enthusiasts with thousands wanting to snap themselves in the lanes after they were used as a backdrop.
Grade One and Grade Two listed buildings in the streets appeared in the Godric Hollow scenes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
And one of its oldest and most famous properties is now known as the location where the wizard was born – with Harry and Hermione visiting it in Part 1 of the film.
But is isn’t the vast amount of visitors that residents have a problem with – it’s the unsafe use of disposable BBQ’s.
And the parish council is growing increasingly alarmed about the threat to the irreplaceable timber-framed homes posed by sparks flying around nearby.
Villagers have told how their homes would all go up in flames “devastatingly quickly” because many of them don’t have a proper firewall because of how ancient they are.
One local said: “The last thing we need is a fire here – almost all of the properties are in terraces and a blaze would spread devastatingly quickly.
“Not all the houses have fire walls between them so if a fire caused by sparks from a barbecue started in a roof, it would be a disaster.
“It would be almost impossible to stop the flames spreading rapidly and destroying a lot of irreplaceable historic homes.”
Another added: “We had a chimney fire and we discovered that ours and most other old houses in the village didn’t have a proper firewall in the roof.
“So if rafters catch fire the flames would spread along the whole street in minutes.
“These houses are hundreds of years old and there were no such things as fire regulations when they were built.”
Notices have since been put up around the village asking tourists not to light BBQ’s.
A spokesperson for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said: “We encourage people to avoid barbecues and campfires in public open spaces, particularly when the ground is dry as fire will spread fast, putting yourself and others in danger.
“We would urge people to read our guidelines on how to enjoy a barbecue safely.
“Please be careful and remember the importance of how and where you light the barbecue, how you use it and the safe extinguishing and disposal of any hot ashes afterwards.”
