county news

A motorcyclist has been seriously injured in a crash involving a bike and a car.It happened on the Dorset coast road, west of Abbotsbury, shortly after 12:30 GMT.The rider, a man in his 50s, was taken to hospital by air ambulance. His family has been informed.A woman in her 80s who was a passenger in the car was also taken to hospital but her injuries are not thought to be serious.The crash involved a red BMW motorcycle and…

Homes have been evacuated and a road closed following a gas leak.Two fire crews were called to Milton Road in Wimborne, Dorset, shortly before midday.A 60m exclusion zone was set up but was later drawn back to affected properties only, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service said.Gas engineers attended to isolate the leak and fire crews declared an end to the incident shortly after 14:00 GMT.In a statement, Dorset Police said: "We received a report at 12:22 GMT from…

An application to burn more types of waste at a planned incinerator poses "unacceptable risks to public health", a council has said.Powerfuel Portland has permission to build an energy recovery facility at Portland Port, burning refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from domestic, commercial and industrial non-hazardous waste.A bid to vary its environmental permit to include dozens more waste types has attracted hundreds of objections - including from Dorset Council - about pollution, smells, traffic and vermin.Powerfuel Portland said the changes…