Firefighters tackle multiple heathland blazes

More than 60 firefighters have been working to extinguish multiple blazes on heathland in Dorset.

Crews from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the fires at Sandford Heath and Great Ovens Hill, near Wareham, on Saturday evening.

It said the first call had been received at about 18:50 GMT, after an area roughly 70 by 30 metres (230 by 98ft) was found ablaze at Sandford Heath, with multiple fires discovered soon after on the nearby Great Ovens Hill.

Firefighters tackled the blazes throughout the evening and extinguished the fires by 01:00 on Sunday morning, the service said.

It said multiple vehicles and water carriers had been mobilised to tackle the blazes - including the largest on Great Ovens Hill, which measured around 300 by 200 metres (980 by 650ft).

Although firefighting concluded in the early hours of Sunday morning, the service said crews would be returning later in the day to check for hotspots.

The cause of the fires is under investigation, it added.