Firefighters have promised to sponsor a barbecue-a-day fundraiser if he visits the station in Wimbledon for a personal lesson in fire safety.

Mat Hartley, of South Park Road in Wimbledon, told the Wimbledon Guardian last week that he plans to braai (a South African style of barbecuing) - no matter the weather - every day for a year so raise funds to adopt a rhino in his homeland.

However, pictures on his blog showing Mr Hartley cooking under a gazebo caused concern the experienced alfresco diner may not be up to speed on fire risks.

The London Fire Brigade contacted us to offer the special lesson to the South African national - which he happily accepted their generous offer - but only so he can blog about it.

He said: "That’s brilliant. I will definitely go down for that. I don’t really need a lesson - but it would be great just to put that on my blog."

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "Mat’s fundraising idea is fantastic but if he’s not careful he could end up burning more than his bangers.

"We want to help Mat raise as much money as possible and one of the best ways is keeping him from having a fire.

It is tempting during a typical British summer to bring your barbecue under cover but it can be very dangerous as the heat can easily catch materials on fire.

"Mat is very welcome at the station or we can visit him at home, give him advice and make his fund raising as successful as possible."

This advice comes the same day a family’s summer house was destroyed after a lunchtime barbecue got out of control in Cheyham Way in Sutton.

For advice on barbecue safety, visit london-fire.gov.uk/FireSafety