A fire service has invested nearly half a million pounds in a new off-road multi-functional vehicle to help tackle heath fires.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) already has an Unimog, based at Wareham Fire Station, which is now 16 years old.

A project to replace it started about three years ago and the new one arrived in April.

The service said that after "extensive testing and driver training", it was now operationally available and had already been used at three wildfires over the weekend.

The Unimog has a capacity of 4,500 litres of water and 162 litres of foam.

It also has front, rear and roof-mounted monitors that can direct large quantities of water or foam at a fire.

DWFRS said the off-road capability of the new machine had been "significantly enhanced".

It now features upgraded tyres, the addition of a low-ratio gear box and the ability to set the tyre pressures to the type of terrain.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Darren Langdown said the Unimog was able to respond to flooding and thatch fires, as well as large fires in the open.

"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," he said.

He added the new features would also "enhance our firefighting capabilities" in heaths and other hard-to-reach rural locations.

DWFRS said the new Unimog would be on show on Thursday at Wareham Fire Station.