A WOODLAND has been left destroyed after a huge heath fire broke out in Verwood.

Around 40 firefighters worked for more than 11 hours to control the blaze that swept through Boveridge Heath.

The fire was first detected at 5.50am on July 1 in the undergrowth but developed into a “large and well-developed" fire which spread across 1.3 hectares.

Multiple fire crews from Verwood, Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Christchurch, Wimborne, Swanage, Ferndown, Wareham, Poole and Eastleigh attended the scene.

The public were warned to avoid the area as emergency services dealt with the incident.

Ferndown fire station shared on social media: “Yesterday at just gone 6am, Ferndown's Land-rover (21M1) was mobilised to a large wildfire at Verwood, along with many other appliances from across the service, and spent more than 11 hours at the incident.

“Due to the densely wooded and steep terrain access for all vehicles was extremely limited.

“As a result of this a large portion of the fire front was extinguished by teams of firefighters with beaters, before an extensive system of hoses could be established.”