COASTGUARDS have warned visitors to Dorset's coastline during the heatwave to stay safe after a spate of incidents involving inflatables.

More than 15 people were rescued on Monday evening alone in incidents along the south coast.

Crews based near Hayling Island, as well as two RNLI lifeboats and a search and rescue helicopter, were called out to reports of a person on a unicorn inflatable getting into trouble.

The man was 400 metres from land when he ran into difficulty near the island. He drifted into the path of ferries near the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour - one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

The teams were then alerted to another man who was struggling in an inflatable dinghy, as well as a group of people aboard a giant flamingo.

HM Coastguard duty controller Pier Stanbury said some responses were sparked by abandoned inflatables, which were then reported by concerned members of the public.

"We’ve had people rescued from a number of beaches," he said.

"Each one of them had been using an inflatable.

"Thankfully, everyone so far has been rescued and is safe. We’ve had to waste RNLI and coastguard volunteers’ time to ensure that abandoned inflatables did not have anyone at risk associated with them.

"We can’t stress enough that these inflatables are not suitable for use in the sea.

"Tide conditions, the wind, any changes in the weather can just take them out beyond safe depths.

"Please, don’t use them, don’t take them to the seaside.

"Inflatables really should only be used in swimming pools, not at the coast where they can quickly go from being fun to being potentially deadly."