SEVEN people were rescued from the quayside on Saturday afternoon after a large fire broke out at a car workshop.

Bournemouth Echo:

Picture by Sarmite Livmane

The fire took hold of a warehouse at the water's edge in Arthur Bray Yard, West Quay Road.

Around 30 firefighters were called to the scene. Police, paramedics and lifeboat crews also attended.

Emergency services were called shortly after 2.30pm. The fire service alone received dozens of calls reporting the blaze.

No one was injured during the fire. However, four people trapped by the smoke in another building on the quay were rescued by the RNLI.

All four were given first aid, while one of the casualties needed oxygen.

An ambulance was called to Poole Quay to help.

The lifeboat then returned to the quayside and evacuated a further three people, all of whom were taken ashore and checked over by the ambulance service.

The fire was contained just after 4pm. 

Poole lifting bridge was closed during the incident, and police shut a stretch of the road with the help of lifeboat volunteers, who rerouted traffic as fire engines began to arrive.

Julian Lockwood, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue station manager, said six fire appliances from Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch attended as well as 30 firefighters and the aerial ladder platform.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Footage: RNLI

Bournemouth Echo:

Picture: RNLI/Poole