A FUNDRAISING page set up to say ‘thank you’ to all the firefighters who battled the blaze at Ringwood Forest near Verwood last month has raised £1,304.

The Verwood community were keen to show their appreciation and after discussion over Facebook resident Jan Masey set up a GoFundMe page in aid of The Firefighters Charity.

The charity provides support for mental, physical and social needs for serving and retired firefighters.

Firefighters from Hampshire and Dorset and Wiltshire fire services were called to the incident on August 10, which involved a large area of trees and scrubland.

At the height of the incident, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) says there were 110 firefighters at the scene.

The stop message came on Thursday, August 13 but firefighters had to return that weekend to deal with hotspots.

Forestry England said an area of about eight hectares was affected by the fire.

To make a donation go to the online fundraising page, gofundme.com/f/jan039s-campaign-for-the-fire-fighters-charity