Major incident declared as crews tackle two blazes in Dorset

A major incident has been declared and 20 homes evacuated near Holt Heath as fire crews tackle two large heath fires in Dorset.

More than 100 firefighters are battling the blaze at Holt Heath, near Wimborne, which broke out at about 11:10 BST.

Firefighters also remain at Newton Heath, near Swanage, tackling a heath fire about the size of 35 football pitches that has been burning since last Sunday.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service’s assistant chief fire officer Darren Langdown said: “We have declared a major incident both due to the size of the fire at Holt Heath, and also the impact of this and Newton Heath on our overall availability of resources.”