THERE is plenty to be happy about at this time of year – warmer weather, more daylight and the chance to spend more time outside. Sadly, for Dorset it is also the start of heath fire season.

After a blaze at Ham Common in Poole on Tuesday, yesterday’s large fire at Moors Valley seems to have begun an all-too-familiar trend.

Whether the causes are deliberate or accidental, most of these fires can be avoided if we all take some responsibility – saving the countryside from damage that can last years and the fire service from having its resources stretched.