Rumours that two men were arrested by armed police at the Pavilion on Tuesday after a performance of the Nutcracker was cut short are not true, police say.
A post on Facebook which has been shared thousands of times said that the ballet was cut short after men were seen "taking photographs of fire exits" and that the men had been arrested by armed police.
The poster wrote; "They cut the show short due to two suspicious looking people buying tickets in the second half, then to be seen on CCTV walking around taking photos of all the fire exits and people. They were arrested by armed police and found over 100 pics of all the exits up and downstairs."
But after extensive checks this morning, Dorset Police say there were no officers called and no arrests made. Others at the theatre on Tuesday night say the performance was no shorter than usual.
Police are now investigating reports made by members of the public after the post went viral last night.
In a statement they said "Dorset Police has been made aware of public concerns after speculation of an incident at the Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre earlier this week.
"We would like to reassure members of the public that the firearms officers were not called to the Pavilion on Tuesday 17 November 2015, as suggested on social media, and that no arrests were made.
"Officers are making enquiries into the subsequent reports of suspicious behaviour at the Pavilion and will update the public if there is any cause for concern."
The post has now been removed from Facebook, but the Echo has been innundated with people sending screenshots.
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