A female firefighter has rubbished claims that the county's fire service does not have a problem with sexual harassment after revealing that she was sent videos of her colleague masturbating.

The firefighter also said she saw male colleagues watching porn and comparing nude images they had been sent.

The revelations come after an investigation was launched into conduct at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

It has been rocked by accusations of widespread sexual harassment after separate reports highlighted inappropriate behaviour from some members of staff.

In January, ITV reported that some male firefighters had taken inappropriate photos of women that had died and joked about them in an informal WhatsApp group, which has led to a police investigation.

In February, another report claimed that a senior officer was able to retire on a full pension despite being found guilty of gross misconduct for 'sexual harassment, being a sexual predator, grooming and coercion' by an internal investigation.

ITV interviewed Chief Fire Officer Ben Ansell and asked if there was a problem, which he denied.

"I don't accept that we have a problem," he said, "I think that we have had some challenging times and we have addressed issues."

But one female employee – who has worked in the fire service for several years but does not wish to be identified – has been the victim of what she believes is a culture of sexual harassment.

“I’ve been sent a video by a colleague of them masturbating,” Jane, not her real name, said.

“I’ve been touched when it’s unwanted, assaulted, attempted assault but I managed to walk away in time.

“I’ve seen colleagues watching porn, comparing naked women's pictures and on tinder showing private ‘nudes’ they had been sent.

"‘Look at these t***’ one would say as he shows many other men the picture.

“I’ve been told if I have sex I can get further in my career.”

She said many other female colleagues were treated in the same way, and suggested that offers of help in exchange for sexual favours, and sexual remarks aimed towards women were ‘rife’.

Messages sent between female firefighters seen by the Adver include some more shocking claims.

One woman said: “I get treated like a sex object. My manager is old enough to be my dad and keeps sending me flirty messages.”

Another said: “I’ve filled in my notice twice now and not sent it. My crew manager is the worst and keeps asking for blowjobs. I hate being alone with him.”

A third woman has claimed that she was molested while getting changed.

“I lost my s*** last week. He tried it on again and rubbed me as he walked past me in my underwear. I shouted to ‘f*** off’ and he then took photos of me changing. I heard the camera noise, but he keeps denying it.”

Jane said she doesn’t believe there is any point in complaining about the behaviour.

“Complaining is the worst thing to do. Disciplines are based on the balance of probability which is up to the ‘chosen’ investigating officer to decide.

“They will always favour the hierarchy. I have witnessed it too many times, staff feeling disappointed they spoke up, with huge regret.”

In response to the details in this article, a spokesperson for the service said they were 'deeply concerning'.

They added: "We take allegations of this nature extremely seriously. There is an expectation for our staff to work in line with our code of ethics, which sets out high levels of expected behaviours.

"The vast majority of our staff work in line with these ethical principles, but unfortunately in any organisation our size there may be times when this does not happen.

"When people come forward with concerns of inappropriate behaviour, we conduct thorough investigations, in accordance with our bullying and harassment and disciplinary procedures, often using an external independent appropriately qualified investigator.

"We continue to work hard to ensure staff have the confidence to raise concerns and that they are supported when doing so. We would urge the individual to share these allegations with us so that a thorough investigation can take place, and where wrongdoing is found, appropriate action taken.

"We are also commissioning an independent review which will involve talking to all of our staff in the coming weeks, with a particular focus on our female workforce."

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue also further explained Mr Ansell's apparent denial that such an issue existed in the service, stating that he remains committed to rooting out the problematic behaviour. 

"In response to the Chief Fire Officers' comment in the ITV report, the way in which the broadcast was edited gave viewers the impression that he denied there is a widespread problem in the service.

"We want to take this opportunity to reinforce that during his interview the Chief Fire Officer did say he was aware of some of the allegations and that he could not comment on individual cases.

"He strongly reiterated that any allegations of this nature are taken extremely seriously and that we would investigate matters and do the right thing. This remains his position."