I don’t think many people realise they could be doing themselves a lot of harm by using wood-burning stoves

I moved from Suffolk to South Ayrshire four years ago and I was diagnosed with COPD shortly afterwards.  We expected the air to be fresher and cleaner when we moved here. We live at the top of a very steep hill and have fantastic views of the rolling countryside around us.

But we noticed straight away that there are more wood-burning stoves around here. We can certainly smell them when we go out for a walk. It might be a lovely day, but it’s just terrible – that acrid smell of smoke.

I can't even go out in the garden when there's so much smoke

And then one of our neighbours had a wood-burning stove installed. That’s when the big problem started because a prevailing wind seems to blow the smoke from that chimney straight into our back garden.

If the wind’s blowing in that direction, then I can’t go out into our garden or have the windows open. That smoke would make me really breathless and then I’d have to use my inhaler more.

I don’t want to intrude upon what my neighbours choose to do in their own homes, but I just think people aren’t aware of the air pollution caused by wood-burning stoves and the dangers associated with it.

If you have a wood-burning stove, each time you open the door to put a log inside you’re releasing all of those tiny particles and filling your home with air pollution.

Urgent action is needed to protect people's health

Our governments really need to take urgent action on this issue. I’ve written to my MSP to try to find out what the Scottish government are planning to do about this.

I’ve also shared my concerns in Defra’s public consultation about proposals to reduce air pollution from domestic burning.

I think the measures suggested are positive, such as putting warning labels on wood-burning stoves, but they simply don’t go far enough. Are people really going to take any notice of these labels?

I can understand that people like the appearance of these stoves, but you can buy an electric fire with a log effect and it can still look really cosy. Most people don’t need to have a real fire.

I think there should be strict limits on who is allowed to have these wood-burning stoves – they should only be permitted for people who haven’t got any other options for heating their homes.