A total of six people have been arrested after a huge brawl broke out on Bournemouth Beach, injuring a teenage girl and two police officers. Chaos erupted in the seaside town as temperatures shot up to 27C on June 30, with a fight breaking out among a huge group of people near the city’s Victorian pier on the hottest day of the year so far. Eyewitnesses said the brawl broke out between two teenage girls before escalating to the larger group, with five people arrested on suspicion of affray and one on suspicion of assault after emergency services were called to the seafront shortly before 7.30pm.
Police said they had been given additional dispersal powers following the incident, in which two officers were assaulted and a teenage girl was left needing hospital treatment. Local policing commander, chief superintendent Heather Dixey said: “Violence and disorder on Bournemouth Beach will absolutely not be tolerated and anyone who is identified as being involved will be robustly dealt with. The beaches in our area are visited by many families with children and we want them to have a safe and enjoyable time.”
A fight also broke out between four people in the city’s Lower Gardens, just metres from the seafront, shortly before the pier-side brawl, Dorset Police said.
Two girls aged 17, one aged 16 and a 35-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of affray following the Lower Gardens incident.
It comes just weeks after a 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of affray and assaulting an emergency worker following a fight on Bournemouth Beach on May 31.
Ms Dixey added: “I would like to provide some reassurance to our communities that we are taking action and have been working at pace to ensure we have all available resources in place to prevent any disorder.
“You can expect to see a heightened police presence in the area – this is to make sure that you feel safe and that any disruption is kept to a minimum. We will still have officers and staff out across the Force area who will be responding to incidents and investigating offences.
“It is completely unacceptable for anyone to be injured, including our hard-working officers who are just trying to protect the public and keep everyone safe.
“Our message is very clear that we want everyone to have a good, safe summer, but anyone who is found to be involved in public place violence is not welcome here.”
Despite being home to one of the UK’s most popular beaches, Bournemouth has the highest crime rate in Dorset, with 83 crimes per 1,000 people and has a mixed reputation among visitors, with some branding it “derelict” and “unsafe”.
