Dorset faces an “exceptional” risk of wildfires as an amber heat warning comes into place.

The Met Office has raised the Fire Severity Index to exceptional – the highest level – for large areas of the county from Friday into Saturday.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna issued a warning about the increased risk.

He said: “The risk is very high across much of central, southern and eastern England.

“Going into Friday and the weekend, it starts to increase further, going into the highest category of exceptional risk.”

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Mark Hardingham, chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), told The Telegraph that he “can’t remember a summer like this” in his entire 32-year career in the fire service.

He said: “We’re not going to see temperatures as hot as we saw three weeks ago, but that doesn’t matter because the ground couldn’t get any drier than it already is.”

Mr Hardingham added: “The wildfires are as prevalent in semi-urban areas as they are in rural communities so it’s difficult to know where the next one will be.”

Met office amber weather warning

The Met Office has issued an amber heat warning running between Thursday and Sunday, which could see temperatures peak at 36C across southern England and eastern Wales.

Mr Petagna said that the temperatures would “widely” be in the 30s across the UK, peaking locally in the mid-30s on Saturday.

“I think the hottest day will probably be Saturday, where we could see 36C in one or two spots,” he said.

There is also a heat health alert in place from the UK Health Security Agency, with experts advising people to look out for those who are older or with existing health conditions, as well as young children.

Dorset drought: hosepipe bans expected

The warnings come as the driest first seven months of the year in decades and hot spells have left parts of the UK facing looming drought, prompting hosepipe bans and warnings about the impact on agriculture, rivers and wildlife.

The National Drought Group – made up of Government and agency officials, water companies and other groups such as the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) – is set to meet on Friday to discuss the prolonged dry weather.

There are expectations drought could be declared for some parts of England such as southern and eastern areas, prompting action by agencies and water companies to manage water resources to ensure supplies and protect the environment.

The vulnerable are likely to experience adverse health effects and the wider population could also be affected, delays to travel are possible and there is an increased risk of water accidents and fires as more people head to tourist spots.

Southern Water has implemented a hosepipe ban for customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Thames Water, which supplies 15 million customers in London and the Thames Valley, has said it will bring in one in the coming weeks.

Conservationists are calling for an England-wide ban on using hosepipes to protect struggling wildlife and rivers which are at exceptionally low levels in parts of the country.