The ghostly shape of Chinese lanterns floating serenely through the twilight has become an increasingly common sight in the UK’s skies.

Eerily beautiful and almost hypnotic to watch as they slowly shrink and disappear into the gloaming, it is hard to believe that even the most severe killjoys could find fault with them.

But these seemingly inoffensive paper vessels, carrying wishes and goodwill, have caused a storm of anger and upset. Branded as flying fireballs, Chinese lanterns have been blamed for killing cattle and birds, have raised the shackles of parliamentarians and farmers, environmentalists, the RSPCA and the coastguard are united by the goal of banning them for good.

Invented by the Chinese in the third century, the lanterns gained popularity in the UK after being released to commemorate the victims of the Bali bombing in 2002. Since then their appeal has soared.

Cheap to buy and striking to look at, about 200,000 are sold in the UK each year.

Once airborne they can be seen for miles, a key part of their appeal. But this puts them at odds with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Those bright lights soaring above the coast can be, and repeatedly are, mistaken for distress flares. Each hoax coastguard call-out wastes money and time.

But the charge sheet starts to grow once the paper and wire lanterns burn out and drop to earth, often more than 30 miles from where they were first lit. The first danger is obvious: A piece of flaming debris falling from the sky can cause a fire if it lands in the wrong place, such as tinder-dry heathland or moorland in summer. Wildfires pose a threat to housing, land and crops but they are also a huge risk to wildlife.

The RSPB’s Richard James said: “Fires can easily occur in places such as heathlands which are naturally dry a lot of the time. “This could kill reptiles and amphibians and depending on the time of year, young birds too.” The startling picture of a dead barn owl, left, snared in the remnants of a lantern highlights the dangers.

Mr James added: “Other problems are ingestion and entanglement. These are more likely to affect birds, particularly at sea.”

Wild birds being killed is one thing, but as soon as valuable livestock were affected, pressure on the lanterns ratcheted up a notch.

Livestock can eat lantern remnants out of curiosity, or when shards become hidden in vegetation. When lanterns fall into fields the frames can become chopped into silage and hay, causing needle-like splinters to enter animal feed. Once eaten, the shards can tear and puncture throats, stomachs and organs, leading to internal bleeding and a slow and painful death.

The NFU reports an increasing number of livestock deaths which are believed to have been caused by animals eating lantern shards. A growing movement, supported by farming unions and the Marine Conservation Society among others, now want the lanterns to be banned, following the example set by Spain, Vietnam and several German states. But the UK’s Chinese lantern industry is a lucrative one and businesses will not let such a cash-cow go without a fight. A recent promotion of “biodegradable” lanterns with bamboo instead of wire frames is advertised as being far safer than their traditional counterparts. The RSPCA line remains firm. They argue that bamboo takes years to break down and shards can still wound and kill animals if ingested. Many people are not aware that Chinese lanterns harbour such a deadly threat to wildlife. It is highly likely their flights are numbered.