Olympic partygoer warned over flare firing in Weymouth

12:57pm Wednesday 8th August 2012 in Local News

COASTGUARDS have warned about the illegal firing of red flares after a false alarm connected to Olympic celebrations.

Portland Coastguard received calls from HMS Bulwark and Dorset Police reporting red distress flares in Newtons Cove, Weymouth, yesterday.

It was confirmed it had been fired from inland and believed to be 'over-exuberant' Olympic celebrations. The person firing the flare was given a warning.

A 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.”

Comments(5)

bootedsw says...
2:37pm Wed 8 Aug 12

Istr there were some used in a boat on Sunday that was not in distress I wonder if they will be reprimanding that sailor. Somehow I think not.

Report this post »

JimmyTheWeed says...
5:10pm Wed 8 Aug 12

Erm, that wasn't a flare, that was a smoke grenade thingy.

A flare shoots upwards into the sky.....

Report this post »

CallumEdge says...
5:33pm Wed 8 Aug 12

Famous at last !! We let off 1 parachute flare and 3 hand held smokers. It's not every day you best mate wins a medal at the Olympics. We had 2 police come and moan at us but the real star was my mum with the comment " first time I've seen any of you lot do anything this week" legend!! Great sailing at the Olympics it's been awesome but a great shame that weymouths bread and butter holiday makers have turned their back on the town. Well done to Nick and all the sailors but there will be no more flares thanks to the fun police

Report this post »

Laadeeda says...
5:36pm Wed 8 Aug 12

Red flares/grenades are an International distress signal. As someone associated with the sea they should be at least fined for their irresponsible behaviour. A lot of people would have responded to that signal, many volunteers.

That said, they aren't the first and they wont be the last. As an Olympian it will be placed in the 'high jinks' box and ignored!

Report this post »

ijwufo68 says...
4:58pm Thu 9 Aug 12

This is due to looking better than the weymouth fireworks!!

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree