Fire crews have battled a second heathland blaze at Talbot Heath within 48 hours.

The emergency services were called around 6pm on Monday evening to an area near Winston Avenue.

The fire is though to have been started deliberately said a Dorset Fire and Rescue spokesman.

Meanwhile the raging wildfire on Saturday, also thought to have been the work of arsonists, threatened to engulf properties overlooking Poole’s Talbot Heath at the weekend.

Worried residents, some of them beaten back by the intense heat and smoke, looked on as more than 40 firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control.

In places flames leapt 20ft in the air and neighbours described a “wall of smoke and flames” advancing towards their homes.

Alison Harris, of Isaacs Close, was one of 50 people who dialled 999.

She told the Daily Echo: “It was a wall of flame and smoke. It looked dreadful.

“The firemen brought their hoses through our garden, but they were finding it hard at times because of the hilly terrain.

“We saw one poor chap holding onto his hose for dear life when the smoke just came up and hit him – they sent other firemen down to help him.

“We were really worried about our house.

“It could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for the firefighters, they did a brilliant job.”

The drama unfolded at 12.45pm on Saturday when Alison, who was on her decking with husband John, noticed flames close to an electricity pylon.

“We’ve lived here 20 years and we know how quickly these fires spread, so I ran back inside and called the fire brigade,” explained the schoolteacher.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service incident commander Richard Coleman said it was impossible to rule out arson at this stage.

Meanwhile, Valley View neighbour Chris Collins, aged 30, recalled: “We just saw the smoke come over the top. Then the flames started coming over and moving towards us.

“You could hear the crackling, it was quite loud. And the heat from behind the windows was intense.

“The closer the smoke got, it blacked out the sky. You could not see the sun.”

It took around two hours to bring the blaze under control, but firefighters stayed on scene into the evening dampening down. They also returned yesterday to check on any hot spots.

A Dorset Fire and Rescue Service spokesman revealed how two members of the public helped the first crew on scene get their hoses to the fire.

It is feared a number of protected reptiles, including sand lizards and smooth snakes, may have died in the fire, which decimated a 200 x 250 metre swathe of heath, equivalent to six football pitches.

Nuket Whitehead, of Valley View, said: “This fire did frighten us. We were scared it would damage our house and garden.”

Her husband Peter said the bracken burned at a “shocking pace” before adding: “The undergrowth is like a tinderbox, it doesn’t take much for it to spread.”