SPEEDBOAT users should take care while the dolphin pod is off the Dorset coast, conservationists have warned.

A reader filmed speedboats coming within 50-100 yards of the dolphins as they played near the entrance to Poole Harbour.

They have been in the area for more than week and have also been spotted at Mudeford, near Bournemouth and Boscombe piers, and Durlston.

Katie Black, a ranger at Durlston Country Park, which runs a special marine project, said: “Dolphins use echo location and they will certainly be aware of approaching boats.

“It’s changes in speed and direction which cause a lot of the problems. It would certainly be better to slow down too, especially because the group has young.

“You can often use markings from propeller blade injuries to identify dolphins.”

Emma Butler, from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: “Any boat travelling at high speeds is a danger.

“We don’t have figures for dolphins injuries, but some whale species are almost extinct and the main danger to them is boat strikes.”

Nigel Bryant, from Parkstone, filmed 20 minutes of the dolphins playing in the wake of pleasure boats at Poole Harbour on Tuesday.

However, two speedboats can be seen passing nearby, and one Rib moving at very high speed passed around 50-100 yards from the pod.

The Purbeck Marine Wildlife Reserve warned it is illegal for boat users to approach dolphins deliberately.

Boat users should switch off their engine and allow the animal to approach them, it advises.

“Three boats around a dolphin can seriously harass the mammal,” it adds. “Please watch from afar.”