Seven deaths in Dorset 'related to drugs' in a month

Four of the deaths were in Bournemouth and Poole

Seven people have died in Dorset in less than four weeks as a result of drugs, police have said.

Since Tuesday 14 March, there have been three deaths in Weymouth, three in Bournemouth and one in Poole.

Two people have been arrested and inquests are due to be held at a later date.

Detectives said they were not able to "definitively link" the seven deaths and were still investigating what type of drugs were involved.

Earlier, officers involved in the investigation raided a property in Bournemouth and arrested 45-year-old man from the town on suspicion of possessing class A drugs and a 17-year-old man from Surrey on suspicion of possessing a class B drug.

Dorset Police said the number of drugs deaths was above average for the county and warned people that the use of illicit drugs and non-prescribed medicines could prove fatal.