ARSONISTS are believed to have caused a large heath fire which came within metres of homes at Poole yesterday evening.

Around 40 999 calls were made at around 6.25pm as the blaze took Hold at Bourne Bottom.

The fire covered an area measuring around 200 metres by 200 metres.

It was the third major heath fire to hit Poole this week, following blazes on Canford Heath on Tuesday evening and Ham Common on Wednesday afternoon.

Nearby resident Emma Humby said of the fire: “It was huge. We could see the flames.

“I live in Broadmayne Road and we could see it from our garden. It was spreading quite fast because of the breeze.”

Jacqui Biddiscombe, of Bloxworth Road, said: “We heard all the noise and we thought it was quite close. The flames were as high as the trees and we Thought about the bungalows that are there. It is terrible.”

Evering Avenue resident Angel Thorneycroft, whose home was metres from the fire, said: “I drove down Evering Avenue and saw the smoke coming up.

“It’s madness– it’s just awful with the animals that have died and all the manpower that has been wasted.”

Dorset Fire and Rescue sent five fire engines, one Unimog off-road vehicle, four Land Rovers, a command support unit and an aerial ladder platform to the scene. They used beating equipment as well as hoses to extinguish the blaze.

The blaze was put out by 7.31pm, although firefighters remained on the scene damping down.

Incident commander, station manager Stuart Jeneson, said: “The fire was spreading rapidly towards houses in Evering Avenue and they were at great risk.”

Crews were last night also called back to Ham Common as hot spots from Wednesday’s fire reignited.