POLICE were abused and sworn at while they worked at a crime scene and in another shocking incident drivers drove past road closed signs at a fatal crash site.

In the first incident officers investigating a break-in at a jewellers said people were also going under the police tape which was put in place while they gathered evidence

Police are still investigating the incident in Swanage in which a group of men broke into the jewellers and stole a safe while armed with crowbars and sledge hammers.

A spokesman for Purbeck Police said: "Amazingly, whilst officers were dealing with this we still had people going under the police tape and trying to walk through the crime scene and we were also abused and sworn at.

"But thank you to 99.9% of people who helped at the scene or who came forward as witnesses at the time."

In the second incident police closed a road after a woman was killed when a tree fell on her car during Saturday's stormy weather

Police closed a long stretch of Verwood Road between the Alderholt turning at the A31 after the incident.

However, some drivers ignored all the signs and manouevred around the barrier in order to drive towards the scene.

An officer from Dorset Traffic Cops said: “Unbelievably, some people couldn’t recognise that this road is closed, despite several advanced warning cones and signs.“If you see a solid closure such as this, it’s closed for a reason.

“Emergency service workers and recovery operatives were just beyond the bend.

“Do not pass.

“The presence of police signs suggests we were at scene.

“If necessary call us on 101 to make sure it’s safe to proceed or to allow someone to escort you in.”