Spate of heath fires 'likely started deliberately'

A spate of heathland wildfires are believed to have been started deliberately, the fire service has said.

The fires, across the Studland area, including Newton Heath, Middlebere Heath, Decoy Heath and Arne all broke out over the weekend.

Group Manager Stuart Gillion at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said it was working with Dorset Police to establish the cause of the fires "all likely to have been deliberate ignition".

Crews are still at the fire at Newton Heath near Poole Harbour where heathland about the size of 30 football pitches has been destroyed.

The fire service said to date firefighters from 36 stations had been sent to tackle the Newton Heath blaze after it started on Sunday shortly before 03:30 BST.

Crews have been working through the night to put the fire out in challenging windy conditions with four appliances and three off-road vehicles currently at the heath.

The first fire was reported shortly after 23:00 BST on Saturday on Decoy Heath.

Large areas of heathland habitat in Dorset have already been destroyed this year due to what investigators describe as "human intervention".

Barbecues and camp fires have been banned in the county's protected heathland but a number wildfires have been attributed to arson.

The fire service is urging anyone who sees fire in a location not previously mentioned to dial 999.

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