MEMBERS of the public drove past ‘road closed’ signs at a fatal crash in East Dorset and swore at police officers investigating a frightening raid in Swanage.

Officers from both roads policing and neighbourhood policing teams have spoken out strongly against those who ignored signs ordering them to keep away during two serious incidents this weekend.

As reported, a woman in her 60s was killed when a tree fell on her grey Ford B-max during stormy weather on Saturday.

Police closed a long stretch of Verwood Road between the Alderholt turning at the A31 after the incident at 8.40am.

They used barriers and signs to fence off the length of the road at either end of the closure.

However, some drivers ignored all the signs and manouevred around the barrier in order to drive towards the scene of the horrific collision.

An officer from Dorset Traffic Cops said: “Unbelievably, some people couldn’t recognise that this road is closed, despite several advanced warning cones and signs.

“If you see a solid closure such as this, it’s closed for a reason.

“Do not pass.

“Emergency service workers and recovery operatives were just beyond the bend.

“The presence of police signs suggests we were at scene.

“If necessary call us on 101 to make sure it’s safe to proceed or to allow someone to escort you in.”

During a separate incident on the same day, police cordoned off part of Swanage High Street after men with crowbars and sledgehammers raided the Georgian Gems jewellery shop.

A safe was stolen from inside the jewellers during the incident.

There were no reports of any injuries.

Police immediately launched an investigation after the incident, and a white Volkswagen Golf has been recovered as part of the ongoing probe.

However, during the course of their investigations, officers manning the cordon were verbally abused and sworn at by members of the public who ducked underneath the police tape.

An officer from Purbeck police said: “Amazingly, while officers were dealing with this, we still had people going under the police tape and trying to walk through the crime scene.

“We were also abused and sworn at.”

Anyone with information on either of the incidents should contact police via dorset.police.uk or by calling 101.