Police were abused by a group of young people jumping off the Pleasure Pier in Weymouth.

Following the incident yesterday, a spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Police said: "We received reports of a number of young people jumping from the Pleasure Pier into the harbour entrance.

"This appears to be an ongoing issue and we have received a number of reports over the last few days.

"We attended this afternoon and spoke to the group to tell them to stop and to offer them words of advice regarding the dangers of jumping from the pier, especially in the harbour entrance.

"The group were initially reluctant to move on and two of the group jumped back into the harbour, swimming across to the Nothe Fort where they were met by police officers. Due to our concerns the RNLI were made aware and were asked to attend.

"A number of the group continued to be rude, abusive and obstructive towards officers. As a result, four young persons were issued with Section 35 dispersal orders which directed them to leave the area for 12 hours. All four were eventually taken home and they were spoken to in front of their parents.

"We are aware that jumping from the pier may appear to be fun. However it is prohibited by local by-laws due to it being dangerous and it also disrupts the harbour. We will be working closely with the Harbour Master to prevent further calls. Parents are encouraged to speak to their children about the dangers of this activity and asked to support us.

"The details of the two girls who entered the harbour against our advice will be given to the Harbour Master to take further action against them which may include prosecution.

"We are pleased to say the rest of the town was busy today but it was all well behaved with lots of locals and holiday makers enjoying the sunshine."