HOAX calls and false alarms due to bonfires are a drain on resources, a fire service has warned.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) has urged residents to let them know if they are having a bonfire so that their time is not wasted on false alarms.

On the evening of Sunday, July 21 a crew from Dorchester was sent out to a report of a fire in the open in Charminster.

The firefighters discovered on arrival that it was someone having a controlled burn and was in fact a false alarm.

A spokesperson for the service said: "If you are having a controlled burn, please call us on 0306 799 0019 and let us know."

DWFRS has also warned people not to make hoax calls to the service after encountering a malicious caller at the weekend.

A fire spokesman said: "I don't know how many times we have to say it, please do not make hoax calls.

"They divert valuable resources away from incidents that may really need them."