Fire crews have been dealing with an "extremely large fire" at a recycling centre in Poole.

Crews were called to Commercial Recycling (Southern) Ltd at the Canford Recycling Centre off Magna Road at 9.40pm last night.

Dozens of people reported seeing flames and smoke from around the site.

Dorset Fire and Rescue have issued a warning to people in the Poole and Bournemouth areas that they could be affected by smoke still rising from the blaze.

Some parents with children at Bearwood Primary School have kept youngsters at home today because of the smoke. However, the school is open and the headteacher has liaised with the fire service.

Fire crews called to the scene found a large single-storey building used for storing waste well alight.

At the height of the blaze, ten fire engines, three water carriers and other support appliances were in attendance.

Mr Baker said: “Although the fire is now under control, and we have scaled back our attendance, it is likely to be a couple of days before it has burnt out completely.

"There is still a lot of smoke rising from the site so local residents may want to keep doors and windows closed, especially if they have a pre-existing respiratory condition.”

The police helicopter attended at scene and assisted firefighters by identifying how the fire was spreading.

Mr Baker reminded people to dispose of rubbish including disposable barbecues and ashes carefully.

He said: “We often see fires at recycling centres in the summer, as people get rid of disposable barbecues, used barbecue ashes and other high risk rubbish.

"Barbecues should always be completely cold before being thrown away and, ideally, the used coals should be drenched in water as well.

"Equally, where there is open land, we would urge people not to have camp fires and to be careful when disposing of cigarettes.”

The cause of fire is yet to be established. However, it is not believed to be malicious.

Stuart Mariner of Commercial Recycling said the alarm had been raised by security staff. Senior management arrived at the scene not long after the firefighters, Mr Mariner said.

"One of our storage facilities has been badly damaged," he said.

"The size of the facility is 40 metres by 100 metres, and around 300 to 400 tonnes of waste was inside, although not all of that has burned."

He thanked firefighters and staff for their work.

"All of the fire crews have been so impressive," he said.

"They responded quickly and they've done amazing work."