A 'woke' council's advertising campaign warning residents that wood-burning stoves are 'cosy killers' near schools was banned by a watchdog today for being misleading.

Brighton and Hove City Council launched a push against the use of stoves and open fires in homes in December 2024 amid concerns they produce deadly air pollution.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) initially warned the Labour-run authority to ensure claims in its drive could only be made if backed up by adequate evidence.

The council then restarted its campaign, including with a digital poster implying wood burners were causing a claimed rise in particulate pollution around primary schools.

But complainants said the ad was misleading, and the ASA today announced it agreed and had upheld these complaints because there was no evidence for the claim.

Brighton-based chimney sweep Rob Whittingdon, who was among the complainants, criticised the council for 'stigmatising people who are acting lawfully' and pointed out that 'air pollution from solid fuel heating has declined significantly over recent years'.

Hove Wood Burners boss Andy Genovese, another complainant, accused the council of 'wasting taxpayers' funds' and 'virtue signalling during a cost of living crisis'. 

Wood burners are used by about two million UK households to save cash on heating bills, and the modern stoves which use advanced combustion technology are pitched as offering a more eco-friendly and safer alternative to older models and open fires.

But scientists have also warned they can affect indoor air quality, causing potentially serious health implications by releasing pollutants such as ultrafine particles (UFPs), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide. 

The poster, first seen at bus stops in Brighton last December, included a graphic of a wood burning stove that was emitting smoke in the shape of an adult and child.

It said: 'Harmful particle pollution near four city primary schools was 78% higher last winter compared with last summer. Wood burners and open fires. The cosy killer.'

Small print at the bottom of the ad next to the council's logo stated: 'City sensor data comparing December 2024 to April 2025 with May 2025 to November 2025 at Middle Street, Elm Grove Primary, Adlington Primary and Saltdean Primary schools.'

The complainants had challenged whether the ad misleadingly implied the use of wood burners and open fires was the cause of the claimed increase in particle pollution.

In its response, the council said the ad was part of a campaign to raise awareness of the damaging impact of particulate matter (PM) pollution from domestic wood burning on public health and its contribution to deaths.

Officials said they used data from a city-wide network of air quality sensors, and were pointing out the rise in particle pollution during the 'heating season' - from October until March or April – which they said was attributable to domestic burning.

This heating season was 'meteorological and weather-dependent, rather than fixed by calendar seasons, and winter-like conditions and solid fuel burning could continue into early spring', according to the council's response.

They cited Government data from 2023 which showed 'domestic combustion' – including wood, solid smokeless fuels, coal, and fuels derived from waste such as coffee logs – was the second highest source of national PM2.5 emissions.

The council added that a further Defra consultation on solid fuel burning, which was published after the advert was released, reiterated those findings.

They said the dominant contributor to PM2.5 emissions in the Brighton area was domestic burning, and its monitoring evidence 'strongly indicated episodic increases in outdoor PM2.5 pollution were due to solid fuel burning, rather than other emissions sources'.

Officials also said 40 air monitoring sensors were installed in the area in 2024, looking at air pollution levels from eight places, including main roads and the primary schools mentioned in the ad.

They compared pollution levels in two parts of the year – period one covered winter months when wood burners and open fires were used more often (December 2024 to April 2025), and period two covered warmer months (April 2025 to October 2025).

The council said that across all eight monitoring sites, PM2.5 pollution was 91 per cent higher in period one than period two. The same results showed a 79 per cent increase across the four primary schools between the two periods.

Officials also provided scientific support from an academic who specialised in air pollution.

In its adjudication, the ASA said it considered 'people would understand from the ad that particle pollution, had been measured at four primary schools in the Brighton & Hove area across two monitoring periods – the cooler months and warmer months – and that a 78 per cent increase in particle pollution had been observed'.

It added: 'They would interpret the ad's reference to 'harmful' particle pollution' and the claim 'cosy killer' as meaning exposure to the emissions was harmful to human health, and potentially fatal.

'They would further understand from the ad's text and the imagery used that the increase in ambient particle pollution at those locations was due to the use of wood burners and open fires, and that there was a direct link between the two.'

But after examining the evidence provided, the ASA concluded: 'The ad implied there was a direct causal link between the use of wood burners and open fires and the claimed increase in particulate pollution, and that those heat sources were the sole cause of the increase.

'While we understood domestic wood burning was a significant contributor to urban PM2.5 emissions, we had not seen evidence in support of the direct link claimed in the ad.'

It added: 'The ad implied that wood burners and open fires were the cause of the claimed increase in particulate pollution around four city primary schools. 

'However, we had not seen evidence to substantiate the claim. We therefore concluded the ad was likely to mislead.'

The ASA told the council that the ad 'must not appear again in the form complained of', and it must 'ensure that robust evidence was held to substantiate any claims where a direct causal link between the use of wood burners and open fires and an increase in particle pollution was stated or implied'.

In response to the ruling, Mr Whittingdon, owner of The Purple Sweep in Brighton, told the Daily Mail he was prompted to complain to the ASA after a huge amount of feedback from his customers.

He said: 'There are lots of contributing factors to winter rises in pollution, and councils shouldn't make claims without the right evidence.

'Air pollution from solid fuel heating has declined significantly over recent years, and much of this has been achieved through guidance in how to use stoves and fires correctly.

'The message I'm keen to get out is that using solid fuel is perfectly legal, including in smoke control areas, provided people are using authorised smokeless fuels or approved appliances designed to burn more cleanly.

'As a chimney sweep in the city, I meet many people who are relieved to have a resilient alternative to the price rises they're seeing in gas and electricity. Most of these people are doing the right thing, but some benefit from guidance on how to use solid fuel effectively.

'This is where the focus should be: on helping people do things properly and improving standards where needed, not stigmatising people who are acting lawfully.'

Mr Whittingdon also cited Defra data released last year - which has also been cited by the Stove Industry Association – which showed emissions of PM2.5 and PM10 from domestic combustion fell by 17 per cent between 2020 to 2023. 

Mr Genovese meanwhile told the Mail that the council 'kept telling us that their approach to solid fuel was 'evidence led' until Freedom of Information requests revealed their evidence was made up and their approach was nothing more than virtue signalling to potential green voters'.

He continued: 'It would be nice if the Council used the Defra grant for the purposes for which it is given, to promote the cleanest and best wood burning stoves and practices rather than labelling the entire industry 'cosy killers'.

'When we elect councillors we hope they will sort out bin collections and administer council services better than the alternatives. We do not elect them to campaign on partisan issues citing made up evidence.'

He said that about 300 wood burning stoves are fitted each year in the council's area, adding that they are a 'drop in the ocean compared to their incinerator's emissions, road traffic and even what blows in from the English Channel'.

Mr Genovese concluded that the council 'are wasting taxpayers' funds, virtue signalling during a cost of living crisis and above all are wrong'.

He said the council's campaign over two winter seasons 'has been harmful for my business and the other four solid fuel related businesses that regularly operate in Brighton', adding that one shop had closed and several other people had exited the industry. 

Brighton council has become known as one of UK's 'wokest' authorities for its history of left-wing governance and focus on climate change, diversity and equality.

Last December, the Mail reported how Brighton had restarted its 'cosy killer's campaign – first launched in December 2024 - after receiving a warning from the ASA.

The ASA had said a suggestion that 'particle pollution contributes to 1 in 20 deaths of people over the age of 30' could only be made if 'backed up by adequate evidence.'

The council then relaunched the campaign under the same 'cosy killer' tagline, but with a new claim stating that 'last winter, particle pollution in Brighton and Hove was 91 per cent higher compared with the summer'.

Speaking after the latest ASA ruling, Councillor Tim Rowkins, cabinet member for net zero and environmental services at the council, told the Mail: 'We have clear and detailed local data that shows the impact that burning solid fuels has on air quality in our densely populated urban areas.

'The health implications of PM2.5 exposure are well-documented and we have a duty to protect the health of our residents.

'We are committed to ensuring our messages are accurate and reliable. The ASA has ruled that, in one of the campaign graphics we used, there was an insufficiently clear link to the evidence. We accept that ruling and will be taking time to review it to ensure any learning for the future.

'There was no ruling against the campaign as a whole or the other materials that were used. The campaign ended in February, and we have no plans to run it again in its original form.

'Later this year we'll be introducing a new Smoke Control Area covering most of the city, accompanied by information and clear guidance on what can be burned and how.

'We're working towards cleaner air in Brighton & Hove and will always act to protect the health of people in our city.'

Across the UK, wood-burning stoves could face tighter restrictions under new rules on air pollution being considered by the Government.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said last December that a new environmental improvement plan would set 'delivery plans' for targets in line with those in the EU.

Particulate pollution is widely agreed to be the air pollutant with the biggest impact on human health, increasing the risk of respiratory and heart conditions.

Last October, a report claimed wood-burning stoves and open fires are linked to 2,500 deaths a year in Britain – and banning them could save the NHS £54million a year.

The study was commissioned by climate charity Global Action Plan and Hertfordshire County Council, and produced by UK environmental consultancy Ricardo.

One month earlier, other researchers at University College London warned wood-burning stoves can damage the lungs in a similar way to cigarette smoke .

Their study, presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam, showed those who used wood stoves lost lung capacity more quickly than non-users – even though they tended to be wealthier, healthier and less likely to smoke.

And a separate study last July revealed wood-burners release high concentrations of toxic pollutants that pose serious health risks .

Researchers monitored five homes in Guildford, Surrey, that used a range of heating stoves and clean solid fuels, including seasoned wood, kiln-dried wood, wood briquette and smokeless coal.

The highest emissions were open fireplaces, which increased PM2.5 exposure up to seven times more than modern stoves.