Dorset Police Ready For The Olympics

Police responsible for the Olympic security operation in Dorset have said they are ''ready'' despite a number of recent incidents in the county.

During the last three weeks Dorset Police have responded to two landslides in which three people were killed and have launched three murder inquiries.

But the force said, along with its partners, they are ready for a safe and secure Games in the county - with the sailing events of the London 2012 Games beginning in just a few days.

Assistant Chief Constable Adrian Whiting said: ''Despite a busy few weeks in the county for Dorset Police and our Local Resilience Forum partners, particularly with the tragedies and incidents arising from the challenging weather conditions, we are confident that we are ready to deliver a safe and secure Games here in Dorset.

''As a partnership, through the Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole Local Resilience Forum, we are planned and prepared for what we anticipate will be further busy weeks ahead.

''Residents and visitors to the events in Dorset can also take some simple precautions to ensure a safe and healthy time - for instance, keeping an eye on valuables - and I'd urge those going to events to plan their travel in advance.''

The sailing events in Weymouth and Portland begin on Sunday and finish on August 11.

Dorset is the largest Olympic and Paralympic venue outside of London and hosts the only other full-time Olympic Village.

On July 16 Dorset Police and the Dorset Fire and Rescue Service found a car in Beaminster Tunnel under a large volume of earth and mud following a landslide on July 7.

The bodies of Rosemary Snell, 67, from Misterton, Somerset, and Michael Rolfe, 72, from Fivehead, Somerset, were recovered from the vehicle the next day.

The landslide followed heavy rain and flooding in the area which saw many of the villages in the area cut off.

Meanwhile in Bournemouth, a murder investigation was launched on July 17 after the body of 23-year-old Spanish student Sergio Retamar Marquez was found in a blood-spattered city centre flat.

Armed police were called to the incident in the Lansdowne Road area and a 29-year-old was arrested. He has since been bailed to a secure unit, Dorset Police said.

Officers refused to comment on reports that Mr Marquez was decapitated in the attack.

Just four days later, a second murder inquiry was launched when the body of a woman was discovered at a house in Benville Road in Weymouth. A 16-year-old has been charged on suspicion of murder.

And on Tuesday this week Charlotte Blackman, from Heanor, Derbyshire, was killed after being buried by 400 tonnes of rock in a massive landslide on a beach near Burton Bradstock.

The 22-year-old was walking along the beach with her boyfriend, father and younger brother when part of a 160ft-high cliff collapsed. Her body was discovered following a nine-hour search operation.

Dorset Police also confirmed it launched a third murder inquiry yesterday after a man died from a gunshot wound at an address in Roumelia Lane in the Boscombe area of Bournemouth.

Following the incident, police chiefs reassured members of the public that there is ''no immediate concern for the safety of the community''.

No arrests have been made.