POLICE are warning farmers and stable owners to be vigilant after a spate of arson attacks.

Now Brockenhurst bobby and Portmore beat officer PC Ian Hunt has sent out a warning to people in the farming and equestrian industries.

"It would appear that there is someone at the moment going around setting fire to barns and storage areas," he said.

"If you keep horses or cattle, and store hay etc, I would urge you to be very vigilant.

"Check your storage buildings on a regular basis. If you see anybody you are not happy with, call the police immediately."

People should make a note of their descriptions and details of any vehicles parked nearby.

He stressed: "If you feel it is an emergency, use the 999 number."

He also appealed to people walking in the countryside to report anyone seen acting suspiciously near farm buildings.

An arsonist struck in the southern New Forest twice at Christmas at the start of a wave of incidents.

A barn at the Countryside Education Trust's Out of Town Centre at Beaulieu was set alight on Christmas Eve, leaving animals without bedding or fodder.

And on Friday December 30, a barn belonging to Tony and Eileen Girrelli at Portmore Farm in the hamlet of Portmore near Lymington, was torched shortly after they left their home to dine with son James at East Boldre.

The blaze led to the destruction of the nearly new £17,000 barn and hay worth more than £13,500.

Earlier that week there was a another barn fire, in the north of the forest at Charford Manor Farm near Breamore. That too is believed to have been the work of an arsonist.