UP to eight locked rooms were broken into in one evening at a popular seafront hotel, with reports of cash stolen from elderly guests.

Police said that around eight rooms at the Russell Hotel in Weymouth are believed to have been broken into following a report that cash was stolen from a guest on Wednesday evening.

Guests were not in their rooms at the time of the burglary.

This is not the first time holidaymakers have been targeted at the Russell Hotel with a similar incident having taken place in October last year when two rooms at the hotel were burgled.

A Weymouth resident, who asked not to be named, said she went to meet a friend who was staying at the hotel at around 10am on Thursday when she saw a 'kerfuffle' in the foyer.

Dorset Echo: The Russell Hotel in Weymouth has been refurbished as part of a £1m investment by Daish's Holidays

She understood from talking to people that a few guests including her friend, all of whom were elderly, had had money stolen from their bedrooms.

She said that it was believed by the guests affected, that their money had been taken the night before when they were out, with many of them not realising what had happened until the next morning.

The witness said police officers were outside the hotel on the pavement on The Esplanade taking statements from the guests affected.

The hotel said that the rooms affected were locked and vacant at the time of the break-ins.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: "We received a report of a theft of cash from a hotel room between 4.55pm and 7.45pm on Wednesday 22 June 2022 at the Russell Hotel on The Esplanade in Weymouth. It was subsequently reported that further rooms had been broken into, believed to be around eight in total.

"Officers have attended to take details from the victims and enquiries into the matter are ongoing. No arrests have been made."

The hotel is owned by Bournemouth-based firm Daish's Holidays.

Paul Harper, Commercial Director, Daish’s Holidays: "On the evening of Thursday 23rd June, a small number of hotel rooms at The Russell Hotel in Weymouth were accessed by an unknown party. The police were called as soon as the hotel management were made aware of the situation.

"The affected rooms were locked and vacant at the time of the incident. We are unable to comment further on specifics of the incident due to the ongoing police investigation.

"Daish’s Holidays takes the safety and security of all our guests extremely seriously and we are working closely with the police to assess the findings and implement any necessary security changes. In the meantime, we are providing support and assistance to the affected guests.’