Firefighters have warned about the dangers of cigarette disposal after a possible fire in a village near Dorchester.

According to Dorchester Fire Station, "poorly disposed of smoking materials" led to a fire alarm being set off in a flat in Charminster.

The alarm was thought to have been set off by a cigarette.

A spokesman for Dorchester Fire Station said: "Earlier today a crew from Dorchester responded to reports of a fire alarm actuation in a flat in Charminster.

"Once in attendance, the crew discovered that the alarm was caused by poorly disposed smoking materials which were smouldering and could have easily become far more serious.

"This shows two important things, one is that having working smoke detectors alerted people early on before it escalated and the second thing is that you should always dispose of your smoking materials safely."

In a statement, Dorchester Fire Station issues a warning to smokers.

It wrote: "Remember to use a proper ashtray that won't tip over easily and is made of material that won't burn.

"Never tap ash or empty an ashtray into a wastepaper basket."

"Make sure cigarettes, cigars and pipes are properly extinguished when you have finished smoking."