A 'disaster on a huge scale' was averted when a fire caused by a disposable barbecue was spotted quickly and extinguished.

If it had not been seen and the fire had time to spread, land managers said it would have caused devastation similar to the Wareham Forest blaze last year.

The barbecue was lit at the RSPB Arne nature reserve and set alight to the 'tinder dry grass' around it and caused a fire several metres long tracking into vegetation on the edge of one of the Purbeck site's most important and diverse areas of heath.

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Senior Site Manger at RSPB Arne Peter Robertson said: “I can’t understand the selfish behaviour of these individuals.

"Decades of conservation efforts by thousands of people - mainly volunteers - on our precious nature reserve almost went up in smoke for the sake of a charred burger. Please don’t light fires or barbecues on our nature reserve."

The RSPB Arne team said they would like to say a huge thank you to the boat user in Poole Harbour who alerted the fire service on seeing smoke and to the fire service 'for responding so quickly and averting disaster'.

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There was also praise for volunteer wardens Adam and Gwyneth who directed the fire crew.

A spokesman for the site added: "Please don't light fires, barbecues, stoves or even a cigarette on our precious habitat. Even below the high water mark, fires and barbecues can ignite plant roots and spread underground, taking hold where vegetation emerges.

"The heathland is at its driest this time of year, but even after rain and well into the autumn there is a significant fire risk."