The new promenade lighting and the laser lighting have been switched off just as tourists are being welcomed back to Weymouth.

The lights were switched off yesterday, just as tourism businesses prepare to reopen, and won't be in operation until July 17 while the control system components are moved back into the refurbished beach office.

Temporary measures were made to control the lights and allow them to function during the beach office redevelopment.

The lighting scheme consisting of 28 computer-controlled LED strips launched at the end of 2019.

The lights are situated along the promenade between the pier bandstand and the pavilion, lighting up Weymouth bay with a series of lighting programmes allegedly 'inspired by the local community'.

Creators claim the lighting 'amplifies the natural rhythms of Weymouth'.

They are programmed using an astronomical clock. The lights turn on for 30 minutes each morning in time with the rising sun, and then turn on again in the evening in time with the setting of the sun. After the sunset, the lights then remain on until 11:30pm in the winter and 1am in the summer, and cycle through 10 unique active scenes that 'celebrate the elements and activities of Weymouth, with gentle ambient scenes in-between'.

The Weymouth Promenade Artistic Lighting Scheme is part of Dorset Coastal Connections, a portfolio of 18 connected projects along the Dorset coast coordinated by the Dorset Coast Forum and funded by the Coastal Communities Fund. The projects aim to 'improve physical, digital, and emotional connections to the Dorset coast and provide good quality public areas for residents and visitors'.

A spokesman for Weymouth Town Council said: "The Council looks forward to the lighting being operational again in time for the summer holidays so that they can once again be enjoyed by the community, and by tourists who are being welcomed back to the area providing that they respect and protect their surroundings."