SALES of coal and smaller quantities of wet wood for household burning have been phased out in a bid to cut pollution that’s harmful to human health.

If you have a log burner or open fire at home, you can still use it but you will need to buy cleaner alternative fuels, such as dry wood and manufactured solid fuels which produce less smoke.

The restrictions mean that sales of traditional house coal and bagged wet wood in units under two cubic metres are now unlawful.

Wood for domestic use can only be sold in quantities of less than two cubic metres if it has been certified under the ‘Ready to Burn’ scheme.

Wet wood in larger volumes must be sold with advice on how to dry it before burning.

All manufactured solid fuels must now have a low sulphur content and only emit a small amount of smoke.

In addition, a new certification scheme will see products certified and labelled by suppliers to ensure that they can be easily identified, and retail outlets will only able to sell fuel that is accompanied by the correct label.