The summer time is the ideal period for drying out wood ready for it to be thrown on to the fire during the winter.

With spring around the corner, households will start to get busy in the garden and might even be planning on chopping down trees or taking apart old benches.

While wood can get damp during cold, wet wintry conditions, leaving it to dry out during the summer will allow families to reap the benefits during the cold season.

Dry wood will also give off a lot more heat whereas if it is still damp then a lot of energy goes into evaporating the water which is inside the timber.

It is important to keep the wood on a dry base, preferably off the ground so that air can get underneath it.

StovesOnline.co.uk recommends that the moisture content needs to be taken down from between 45 and 30 per cent to around 20 per cent in order to produce the best wood burning conditions.