DORSET today welcomed £300,000 worth of Government cash to help it plan for Olympic safety and security risks but said more money would be needed.

The award was announced by fire services minister Parmjit Dhanda who said the money for Dorset Fire Authority would help it with safety and security contingency plans for the Olympic sailing events which will be held at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

South Dorset MP Jim Knight was pleased with money and said: "I have been working hard to pressure the minister to resolve this issue and I am delighted with this result.

"Now the fire services can move ahead with proper planning to ensure that the safety and success of Olympic events in Dorset matches that of our Olympic athletes. I am continuing my lobbying efforts on behalf of the police to secure similar support as they develop their capacity for 2012."

Dorset will host the sailing World Championships and Olympic qualifying events in 2010 and 2011 but the fire service currently has no capability for fire-fighting at sea.

Three months ago Dorset Chief Fire Officer Darran Gunter warned that Weymouth would be the highest security threat outside London during the Olympics.

He added that the service would need extra cash between now and 2012 to meet safety and security risks brought about by sailing events at the academy.

Mr Gunter said: "We are very pleased, very satisfied with this cash. It will help us with our initial work.

"We applied for £1.2 million to cover the period between now and the end of the games. The £300,000 given us by the Government is for the period 2008-2011.

"We will now be making a fresh submission for more money in 2010 to cover the year running up to the games and the year of the games."

Authority member and Weymouth county councillor Harry Burden said that the £300,000 would be a welcome boost for Dorset's fire service.

But he added that the size of the task facing officers meant the award should only be a down payment with more Government cash needed in regular instalments to get the job done properly.