ROYAL Marines using helicopters carried out an exercise with a cruise ship in Poole Bay yesterday.

Eyewitnesses on the shore tweeted the Daily Echo to say the Chinook "and two other helicopters" had been seen flying around the vessel Sea Discoverer in the afternoon, and appeared to be dropping cargo on its deck.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "A routine military training exercise involving boats and personnel of the Royal Marines and regular helicopter flights will be taking place this week at sea off Poole.

"Any inconvenience to the general public is regretted and is kept to a minimum where possible."

Me Christensen, a director at the Clipper Group which owns the ship, said: "We can confirm that the vessel is owned by Clipper Group and that the vessel has been chartered by a British client for a short employment for exercise purposes."

Portland coastguard said it had not received any reports of an incident, but that military exercises involving Hercules aircraft dropping parachutists were being carried out in the area at that time.