Hall & Woodhouse has donated 1,500 bottles of its Rio Tropical Light soft drink and 400 packets of Pipers crisps to Wareham Fire Station for firefighters tackling the fire at Wareham Forest.

The donation will be shared with other local fire stations that have come together to control the fire that started on Monday, May 18.

Anthony Woodhouse, Chairman of Hall & Woodhouse, said: “The devastating fire at Wareham Forest this past week has been harrowing to witness. At this difficult time where key workers are working relentlessly to support us through the current health crisis, the firefighters at Wareham Forest have shown immense bravery and strength.

“With our pubs being temporarily closed, we wanted to do what we could to support our firefighters and thank the crew on the ground at the scene of the fire.”

Previous donations have been made to the NHS frontline staff at Poole Hospital, Dorset County Hospital and Alderney Hospital in Poole. The key workers at Dorset County Council’s Charminster Depot and Dorset and Poole Community Exchange’s Foodbank also received a Rio Tropical donation.

Rio is a soft drink made with 10 percent fruit juice and sparking water with a unique tropical taste. It is owned and nurtured by Hall & Woodhouse, an independent family company that also brews award-winning Badger ales and runs a collection of around 180 beautiful pubs and inns across the south of England. The business is dedicated to supporting communities and causes through its Community Chest Emergency Fund to help those in financial difficulty in the coming months. The remaining Community Chest funds will be distributed later in the year, to focus on supporting voluntary and charity organisations through their recovery and resilience phase.