A house fire prompted a substantial emergency response late last night.

Emergency services were mobilised at 10.13pm yesterday after reports of a property fire, with people believed to be inside, in South Perrott.

Crews from Bridport Fire Station, Maiden Newton Fire Station, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, the police and ambulance all attended the incident.

Firefighters entered the property from the front and back using hose reel jets to extinguish the fire, along with breathing apparatus support from Dorchester Fire Station.

Thermal imaging cameras were used in a bid to locate residents but, with the fire extinguished, no people were found. A second search confirmed the property was empty at the time of the blaze.

Ambulance crews were released from the incident and police officers tasked with investigating the cause of the incident and locating the resident.

A spokesperson for Bridport Fire Station said: “With the fire extinguished and no persons found a second search of the property was conducted which confirmed nobody was in the property.

“The incident was scaled back to one Dorset pump to monitor for hot spots and to hand the incident over to (the) housing association.

“The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“Thankfully the only damage was to the property involved. This was a great example of multiple agencies coming together and working as one team.”