Police are appealing for witnesses following a fire involving 288 bales of hay near Winterborne Kingston.

The fire service was called to the a field next to West Street between Winterborne Kingston and Winterborne Whitechurch at 6.33am today, and crews from Blandford, Poole and Bere Regis tackled the blaze using two hose reel jets.

A spokesman for the fire service said: "Crews from Blandford and Poole, along with the Land Rover from Bere Regis were sent to a large fire in the open at a farm in Winterborne Kingston at 6.33am this morning.

"When they arrived crews found a large stack of approximately 150 hay bales alight.

"Firefighters and the farmer used machinery to remove unaffected hay bales and hose reels to keep the fire from spreading. The fire is being allowed to burn out under supervision.

"The stop message was received at 8.56am Firefighters from Bere Regis and a relief crew from Wareham remain in attendance at this incident."

Police are now appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

Police Constable Sam Burge, of Blandford police, said: "We are continuing to liaise with the fire service to establish the cause of this fire.

"At this stage we are not able to confirm whether it was started accidentally of if it was the result of a deliberate act. To assist our investigation, I would urge anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity in the area around the time of the fire to please contact us.

"I would also urge anyone who has dashcam on their vehicle and was driving along the road between Winterborne Kingston and Winterborne Whitechurch around the relevant time to please check their footage."

People with any information should contact Dorset Police at dorset.police.uk, email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or call 101 with occurrence number 55190140354, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org