COASTGUARDS have warned about the illegal firing of red flares after a false alarm connected to Olympic celebrations in Weymouth.
Portland Coastguard received calls from HMS Bulwark and Dorset Police reporting red distress flares in Newtons Cove, Weymouth, yesterday afternoon.
They were fired soon after Weymouth windsurfer Nick Dempsey sailed into second place in the RS:X Men’s medal event and won the silver medal.
A huge crowd gathered at the Nothe and on the coast nearby to watch Dempsey clinch silver on home waters. Police and coastguards confirmed the flare had been fired from inland and put it down to ‘over-exuberant’ Olympic celebrations. A man was given a warning by police.
A Portland Coastguard spokesman said: “It is an offence to falsely fire red flares either on land or in the marine environment, other than when a genuine distress situation exists.”
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