Picture shows dramatic caravan fire that closed the A35

Shortly past noon yesterday (Monday, June 3) a towed caravan caught fire on the A35 Bridport Road near Martinstown. 

Fire crews and police attended the blaze. The fire service said there were no reports of any injuries and no arrests were made.

Read more: Caravan fire closes A35 both ways near Winterbourne Abbas

The caravan was well ablaze by the time fire crews arrived (Image: Dorchester Fire Station)

Maddie Penter was travelling to Cornwall when she passed the fire just past midday - before fire crews could arrive.

She said: "We saw lots of smoke in the air. You could feel the heat of the fire as you drove past it. It was mental.

"We drove like twenty minutes up the road and we saw a fire engine going back down."

The road was closed in both directions from Monkeys Jump roundabout to Winterbourne Abbas. The road was eventually reopened at around 2pm.

A driver in the area said: "There was lots of white smoke & burning metal smell when I passed, it seemed the front of the caravan was running down the hill."

The caravan was destroyed in the fire and the blaze also caused damage to nearby plants.

The remains of the caravan after the fire (Image: Bridport Fire Station)

A hedge was damaged by the fire (Image: Bridport Fire Station)

A spokesperson for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said: "We were called at 12.13pm for a caravan well alight, three crews attended (from Dorchester, Bridport and Weymouth) and two breathing apparatus wearers and two hose reel jets were used to extinguish the fire, which also affected the adjacent hedgerow.

"The car that had been towing the caravan had been unhitched before we arrived on scene. 

"No injuries are mentioned."

The remains of the caravan after the fire (Image: Dorchester Fire Station)