FIRE investigators have refused to rule out arson after a blaze ripped through a large barn.

Residents close to Coombe Farm, at Langton Matravers, were warned to keep their windows and doors shut until smoke cleared after asbestos was confirmed at the site.

At its height flames leapt 30ft high, illuminating the evening sky for miles around.

Firefighters, who are working to determine the cause of the blaze, say 60 tonnes of straw and hay were destroyed.

Twenty firefighters attended the blaze, around 5.45pm on Tuesday. The 20 metre by 10 metre barn was completely destroyed.

Swanage fire station commander Phil Burridge said: “To find a definitive cause of this fire would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“There is virtually nothing left of the barn itself, so investigations are underway with the landowner and local community to try and establish how it could have happened.

“We are certainly not ruling out the possibility of arson and if this is the case, I cannot stress enough how mindless this act is.

“We had 20 or so firefighters at its height fighting this fire, and that costs everyone - the tax payer, the farmer and the local community.”

Asbestos sheets had been used in the barn's construction, but the intensity of the flames destroyed most of the fibres immediately.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service stressed any asbestos released would have been an “insignificant amount”.

Residents were advised to close windows and stay inside as a precautionary measure, said a service spokesman.

Mr Burridge said: “Luckily, on this occasion, no-one was hurt and all the calves and livestock got out safely.”