CIVIC dignitaries and members of the scouting community gathered at Poole Quay to mark the anniversary of Lord Robert Baden-Powell's birthday.

Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the scout movement, started his first ever experimental camp on Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour.

On Sunday, Poole Mayor Xena Dion and Poole District Scouts chairman Andrew Williams were joined by parents, scouting officials, scouts, cubs and beavers, to mark International Scouting's Founder's Day.

Cllr Dion placed a wreath around the shoulders of the statue of Baden-Powell, which looks out across Poole Harbour towards Brownsea.

She told those gathered: "It really does give me a huge amount of pleasure doing this. I was a brownie, a guide, ran a brownie pack and a guide company.

"The scouting and guiding movement is so important to people."

Cllr Dion, said that during her day job - as a health visitor - she sees firsthand what joining the scouting movement can do for the lives of young people.

"To have the birth of the movement here in Poole is a great honour for us," she added.

Earlier, Mr Williams said: "Wednesday, February 22, is Baden-Powell's actual birthday. This is where all those years ago his scouting experiment started.

"He was already a celebrity, a big war hero.

"When he left from this point with 20 boys in 1907 it was to see whether they would like it, whether this would catch on - and by heck it did.

"Today there are 10 million guides and 32 million scouts worldwide, which is extraordinary. So what he started then affected an awful lot of lives. That is what we are here to celebrate today."

The sculpture of Baden-Powell on Poole Quay was unveiled in 2008, and every year since a laurel wreath has been placed by successive Poole mayors in honour of the man.