A LOCAL authority is set to review its use of a potentially cancer-causing weed killer.

Green Party representatives for Trinity ward Cllrs Andy Fewings and Sarah Hall will next month ask Burnley Council to stop using glyphosate across the borough.

The authority’s new leader Cllr Charlie Briggs has promised to review the issue before the next full council meeting on July 10.

Cllr Fewings, leader of the Green Party, will propose a motion calling for the council to ban the use of glyphosate by its staff after a well-attended meeting at Burnley’s One Sixty cafe and community hub on St James Street.

It was addressed by Nick Moles, of Pesticide Action Network UK who quoted evidence that the overuse of the weedkiller posed a threat to human health and biodiversity.

He told his audience that glyphosate had been widely-banned in Canada, Brazil and Australia, after the World Health Organisation concluded in 2015 that it was was a probable cancer causing carcinogen.

Glyphosate, an ingredient in many commercial and domestically-used products is used routinely, by Burnley Council to treat weeds in borough schools, towns, parks and children’s play areas.

Burnley Green Party leader Cllr Fewings, who organised the meeting, said: “We are keen to raise this issue and its effects on health and biodiversity.

“We want to see the council use viable alternatives to glyphosate wherever possible.”

Burnley and Padiham Independent Party’s Cllr Briggs said: “I understand we do use this weedkiller a lot and I shall be discussing this matter with council officers.

“I will certainly review the use of glyphosate and the potential use of alternatives to tackle weeds.”