POLICE have issued a safety warning after a smoke grenade was let off in a Weymouth nightclub.

The grenade was let off inside Rendezvous bar in St Thomas Street in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Dorset Police officers, who were already in the area dealing with a separate matter, were alerted to the incident by staff at the nightclub at around 1.50am.

Keith Treggiden, Rendezvous manager and chairman of the Pubwatch group, said the venue is investigating the situation and looking at CCTV footage to try and identify the perpetrator.

Mr Treggiden said: “The smoke grenade was let off at about 1.30am on the upper floor and there were about 300 people inside at the time.

“Luckily, there were no injuries and everyone evacuated the building safely.

“We are prepared to work with Dorset Police to give them the information that they need.”

He urged pranksters to think before they act because someone could have been seriously hurt.

He said: “Please do consider the wider consequences of your actions, because this could have caused serious harm to someone.”

A Dorset Police spokesman added: “The smoke grenade that was let off appears to be fairly common and one that is fairly easy to buy.

“We are urging people to think of the consequences of their actions. What could have started out as a bit of fun between friends could turn into something much more dangerous.

“The worrying thing is that people do see things like this as a bit of fun but it could have escalated into something extremely serious.

“Anyone in the area at the time could have suffered a panic attack as a result of the incident or someone could have fallen over in the panic of things and been trampled on by others.

“We are urging everyone to please think of the wider consequences before actions like this.”

Witnesses and anyone with information should call Dorset Police on 101.