DORSET'S elected crime chief says he believes the county's ports could be "vulnerable" to terrorists.

Martyn Underhill has written to the Home Secretary calling for security to be reviewed in the light of Paris and the government's decision to bomb ISIS in Syria.

Mr Underhill describes the ports as "porous" and says they could leave the county, and the wider south west coast, vulnerable.

Dorset has three key points of entry and exit, Poole, Weymouth and Bournemouth Airport.

"In the past few days, I raised this issue with Theresa May, and the Head of Counter Terrorism, Mark Rowley, to ask what they are doing to bolster the Border Force on the southern ports, and to rein back on proposed changes to Special Branch staffing in the South West.

"I have written to all Dorset MPs, stating the importance of lobbying government over existing security arrangements."

He added: “Paris was a game changer. We know the terrorists crossed international borders. I am here to ensure residents are kept safe.

"We know that to keep our country safe, we need a strong counter terrorism team, a strong police presence, a strong link to community intelligence, and a strong first line of defence through the Border Force and Special Branch.

"It’s the latter that worries me, whilst the Chancellor protected counter terrorism and policing a fortnight ago, I need assurance from government that the Border Force will be invested in, and that proposed cuts to the south west Special Branch are now reviewed.

"Dorset Police's Marine Section does not have for a 24 hour, seven day a week capability.

"This exposes the 85 miles of Dorset coastline as a vulnerable point for unopposed access to the county, unless we have a strong Border Force and Special Branch Ports Unit as well. Dorset borders the Channel. The threat to us as a county is very clear.”

“Port security should not be an afterthought. It needs to be part of our day to day business. We need to know who is coming in and out of our ports. However, I recognise that this is no easy feat with the sheer size of our coastline."

Harbour users in Weymouth say the port is effectively open because there is no round the clock security.

A spokesman for the Royal Dorset Yacht Club was quoted at the weekend as saying: "There's no security to speak of. You just arrive in port, tie up, discharge passengers and off you go."