Chinese lanterns must be banned before they cause a fatal fire, a senior Liberal Democrat MP said after one started a huge blaze at a recycling centre.

Tim Farron, who has been campaigning for some time against their use because of farmers' concerns about the impact on crops and livestock, said they are "immensely dangerous".

Investigators have established that a lantern - captured on CCTV falling on to the site - was to blame for the blaze in Smethwick, near Birmingham, which was tackled by 200 firefighters and caused £6m of damage.