STRONG winds and high temperatures saw a car fire spread to heathland on a key road near Bournemouth Airport at the weekend.

Both carriageways of the A338 were temporarily closed on Sunday (August 17) after two areas of heathland were caught in the blaze.

Crews from Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, supported by crews from Lymington, Ringwood and New Milton, attended the scene to tackle the fire.

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The southbound carriageway reopened at around 4.40pm and crews successfully extinguished the fire at 5.17pm.

The northbound carriageway remained closed while power lines were checked.

Heathland blazes are becoming more common in Dorset as temperatures rise.

Dorset has seen 55 incidents of fire, affecting 27 heaths and burning an area of over 65 hectares since January of this year.

This represents a 41% increase in fire incidents compared to 2024.