MOVES to ban patio heaters to save the environment have come under fire from pubs across East Lancashire.

A report proposing the ban has been heard by the European Parliament, with Euro MPs calling for them to be phased out to cut down on greenhouse emissions.

But Geoff Sutcliffe, from the local Licensed Victuallers Association, said it was just another example of politicians "picking on the pub trade".

He said that a ban could cause problems for all of the pubs in the area which use patio heaters to keep customers warm outside following the smoking ban.

Mr Sutcliffe, landlord at the Rising Sun, Wilpshire, said: "We have two heaters that have sensors so that they only work when people are nearby.

"This is another example of smokers, and pubs, suffering again.

"It is wrong to say that they use up too much electricity.

"If my customers weren't here they would all be at home using even more power.

"All of our members want to look after our customers and the European politicians should keep out of it."

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans hit out at the European Union plans.

He said: "This is just an example of headline grabbing policies. The truth of the matter is that the effect of outdoor heaters on the environment is so negligible as to be non-existent.

"What concerns me the most is that our pub industry will be badly affected.

"I do not believe that we got the balance right when we banned smoking but having done so, outdoor heaters provided landlords with a means to retain customers."

The UK Independence Party is opposing the move saying that patio heaters' impact on global warming is "very minimal".

Plasma televisions produce more carbon dioxide (CO2) than patio heaters when normal use patterns are compared, the party said.

John Whittaker, the party's Lancashire MEP, said: "Banning patio heaters will hit both the beleaguered pub trade and ordinary householders, who enjoy the outdoor life in their back garden.

"Our pubs have already been adversely affected by the smoking ban.

"Under this proposal they will not even be allowed to make their customers comfortable while they smoke outside."

Euro-MPs are have backed a resolution calling on the European Commission to set a timetable for abolishing goods with low energy-efficiency ratings.

The estimated financial impact on the pub and catering industry of a patio heater ban is set out in The Publican Market Report 2007.

It said the pub trade invested up to £86.5 million on outdoor heaters in the last year to attract customers after the smoking ban obliged them to drink out of doors if they wanted to carry on smoking.

If the ban being urged by some MEPs was approved, that money would have been wasted, it warned.