Hundreds evacuated after industrial estate gas leak

Hundreds of people have been evacuated due to a major gas leak at a south coast industrial estate.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had received a call at 12:14 BST on Thursday that a vehicle had struck a small gas main on Ferndown Industrial Estate.

The service said it had evacuated 200 people from the area and introduced a 25m (82ft) exclusion zone whilst the site was made safe.

It added that crews from Ferndown and Wimborne were currently in attendance, alongside teams from Dorset Police and the Gas Board.

Dorset Police confirmed its attendance, saying it was assisting the fire service with the relevant road closures.

Animal charity Dorset Cats said it had been forced to close "with immediate effect" due to the incident.

"Please be assured that all of our cats are safe and continue to be cared for by our team," the charity said, in a statement on Facebook.

"We will remain closed until further notice and will provide an update as soon as more information becomes available."