HELIUM balloons and Chinese lanterns could be banned from council land across Worcester - after a senior councillor labelled them a health hazard.

Labour Councillor Richard Udall is calling upon Worcester City Council to ban them from its buildings and public parks after growing concern about environmental damage.

In recent years many authorities around the country, including councils in Wychavon and Herefordshire, have made the same stance.

Once helium balloons go down they can end up killing wildlife like sheep and cows if they are eaten - and many sea mammals also mistake them for jellyfish.

Chinese lanterns have also been widely criticised by fire services as serious fire hazards, with many authorities lobbying the Government to regulate them better.

Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority has already banned them from any of its properties and actively discourages their use at public events.

Councillor Udall's request has led to Worcester City Council's new leader promising to look into it.

Councillor Udall said: "When helium balloons go up, they must come down and the problems they cause are significant.

"Sea mammals think they are jellyfish and if they eat them, it is fatal - it's the same for sheep and cows on agricultural land.

"And the problems caused by Chinese lanterns are just as serious, you've got naked flames falling onto land.

"It's a very serious issue, many councils and fire authorities including Hereford and Worcester have banned them so I'm hoping the city council does the same."

Councillor Udall also raised the issue during a full council meeting this week - where he got a positive indication from the leadership.

Conservative Councillor Marc Bayliss, the new leader, said: "I'll certainly look at that - in principle it sounds like something I'd consider but I want to see the implications first.

"I have a lot of sympathy with what you've said so I'll ask Councillor Roberts (Andy Roberts, the cabinet member for cleaner and greener) to look into it."

Last year the region's fire authority issued fresh guidance warning against Chinese lanterns - calling them a "significant" potential hazard.

Bosses released a statement saying the fire service "does not support the use of these devices at any event" and asked the public and event organisers to "refrain from using them".

In 2013 more than 80 caravans were destroyed at Croft Farm Leisure Park, near Tewksbury, after a massive blaze ripped though the park causing hundreds of thousands of pounds in damage.

An investigation the fire service revealed that the fire was started by a stray Chinese lantern - just one of many examples nationwide.

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has called for the Government to ban them outright, comparing lanterns to an "unguided flame thrower" in 2014.