FIREFIGHTERS tackled an embankment fire believed to have been caused by a steam train on its way to Weymouth.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service received a call at 1.22pm this afternoon to report a small fire by the railway embankment in the Wareham area at Worgret Junction.

One retained crew from Wareham was sent to the incident.

When the crew arrived they found approximately 500sq meters of the railway embankment ablaze. The fire had also spread to a nearby field.

Fire crews said that trains were still able to get past the area with caution whilst crews extinguished the fire using two hose reel jets.

A spokesman for DFRS said: “The cause was believed to have been a steam train which had recently passed through the area travelling west towards Weymouth.”