A NEW fire service vehicle has already helped stop five heath fires across Purbeck.

Half a million pounds was invested into the new off-road multi-functional vehicle in a bid to tackle heath fires quickly.

Wareham Fire Station already had an Unimog but as it had been used for the past 16 years, a project to replace it launched three years ago.

The vehicle has a capacity of 4,500 litres of water and 162 litres of foam, together with front, rear and roof-mounted monitors that can direct large quantities of water or foam at a fire.

Its proved vital in combatting heath fires, as within the first 24 hours of it being in service on June 20, it was mobilised to five separate incidents.

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Assistant chief fire officer Darren Langdown at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said: “As part of our commitment to the ongoing development of our vehicles and equipment, I am really pleased to confirm we now have our new Unimog in service and able to respond to incidents, which can include flooding and thatch fires as well as large fires in the open.”

He added: “We have seen a significant increase in the number of wildfires across our service area over the past five years, and the Unimog has been an invaluable asset to tackling these.

“The new vehicle has some new features, which will enhance our firefighting capabilities not just on our heaths but in other hard-to-reach rural locations.”

The off-road capability of the new machine has been significantly enhanced due to the upgrade in tyres, along with the addition of a low-ratio gear box and the ability to set the tyre pressures to the type of terrain at the touch of a button.