Blandford Forum is a Dorset market town of 10,355 (2021). The town has Georgian architecture and sits on the River Stour, 13 miles NW of Poole. In news: the New Forest cider-festival deaths linked to indoor heater sparked a coroner’s tragedy ruling.
In Winchester, an inquest has recorded the deaths of Kayleigh and Christopher Coll as misadventure caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas heater not designed for indoor use. The heater was used overnight in their van at the New Forest Cider Festival in October 2025; the coroner says warnings may prevent future deaths.