Brackettes - www.brackenburn.co.uk

Great idea, making logs from weeds, which means that ground can be cleared profitably, and carbon neutral. Also, the ash is potash rich and good for the garden. They are made by Brackenridge somewhere in south England.

The bad points: The stove has got to be at a good working temperature before you add these fuel logs, or it will stop the fire. So get the fire going well first with wooden kindling and a log or so, before adding a brackette. They swell quite a bit as they catch, like a lot of fuel logs. They are very compressed (which is not a bad point, see below).

Its wonderful the ash is good for the garden, because there is loads of it. Loads. Burning hardwood logs means emptying the ash out once a month for me. Well, forget that, you'll be lucky to leave it in for a couple of days. Loads! Also, there is nothing to say the plastic bags they are packed in are recyclable or not. Shame!

The good points: They burn hot once they are going, and because they are compressed they last for ages. There were still red hot embers in the stove four hours after I had stopped feeding it, easy to restart with a bit of kindling. So if you are absent minded or want the fire to stay in while you nip to the shops, no problem. And there is a definite feel-good factor to using such an ecological product - as the manufacturers say, it's the logs that warm you twice.