A road and a school have been closed after four fire engines were called to a chlorine leak at a school.

Two fire engines from Sturminster Newton went out to reports of a chlorine leak at William Barnes Primary School on Bridge Street in Sturminster Newton at 6.25am this morning.

A member of staff at William Barnes Primary School said the school has been closed for the day as a precautionary measure and said that it will re-open tomorrow.

Bridge Street was closed both ways, causing slow traffic in the area.

A fire engine from Gillingham and another from Yeovil were also called to the scene, as well as an environmental protection unit from Gillingham.

A spokesperson for Dorset Fire and Rescue said that 18 litres of chlorine tablets in the school’s swimming pool building had been affected by water, which resulted in chlorine gas being released into the air.

The fire crews put a 100m safety cordon in place around the affected area and two firefighters with breathing equipment carried out an assessment of the area.

By 7.30am the firefighters had located the container which had been affected and had it sealed.

A spokesperson for Dorset Fire and Rescue said the container is going to be taken away by a specialist contractor.

Crews then focused on ventilating the building.

The fire crews from Gillingham and Yeovil have left the scene, as well as the environmental protection unit.

The Sturminster Newton crews have also now left the scene, the first at 8.40am and the second at 8.50am, and the safety cordon has now been removed.