POLICE have launched an investigation after a fire accelerant was poured around a front door.

Officers rushed to Doctor Roberts Close in Bridport on Monday, August 29 at 2.19am following reports from a resident that they could smell petrol at the front door of a block of flats.

Fire accelerants are usually flammable materials that can be applied in order to start a fire more easily.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service also attended the incident as a precaution, but a fire had not been started. One crew from Bridport was initially called to the scene.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

Police said they are "keeping an open mind" as to the motivation behind the incident and have increased patrols in the area to reassure residents.

Bridport Neighbourhood Inspector Neil Wood, said these type of incidents do not happen very often in the town - but insisted that his team is taking it "extremely seriously".

He said: "To be honest, it is a very very rare incident.

"We are taking it extremely seriously and our response to that is we are increasing our patrols in the area to reassure the local community and to engage with them in order to find witnesses. By actively talking to the public about this, we hope it will encourage people to come forward with information that can help our investigation.

"We would appeal to anybody who does know anything about this incident to get in touch with us directly or though Crimestoppers. We want to hear from people who know anything about what happened."

Insp Wood added that the incident could have ended with "severe" consequences, had a fire been started.

He said: "We have got an open mind to what the intentions of the incident could have been.

"The consequences could have been extremely severe and we are treating it very seriously."

Detective Constable Lucy Cummings, of Weymouth CID, said: "I am appealing to anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area around the time of the incident to come forward.

"No fire had been started, but it is believed an accelerant had been poured around the entrance door to a block of flats."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police by calling 101 or emailing 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk - quoting incident number 29:49. Alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org