A TOTAL of £19million has been secured from the Home Office to help Dorset Police fund security for the 2012 Games.

Up to 50,000 extra visitors a day are expected to descend on the borough when Weymouth and Portland hosts the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events from July 27 next year.

Dorset Police told the government last year it estimated the costs of the operation would come to about £30m.

A Dorset Police spokesman said £19million was ‘the running total to date’ that had been secured.

She said: “This particular figure has not been announced before, although previous figures have been announced as they came.

“The running total to date is £19million.”

Chief Constable Martin Baker has vowed that any costs would be kept separate from the county's own police budget and he is hopeful of securing more funding in the run-up to the big event.

The latest announcement came during the same week that a police security exercise was carried out in Wey-mouth Bay to test the waters for the Olympics next year.

Helicopters and divers used the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta as a backdrop to their training.

Some 25 police officers and around 10 members of police staff were involved, with some stationed on Royal Navy vessel HMS Bulwark – which was around eight miles offshore and acted as a maritime control platform.

Dorset Police joined forces with the Royal Navy, the South Western Ambulance Service, Portland Coast-guard and Dorset Fire and Rescue for the exercise on Tuesday.

Chief Superintendent David Griffith, of Dorset Police Olympic and Paralympic Security Team, said: “We aim to create a resilient Games and make sure it remains a celebration of sport.

“We will be working with different organisations to get an idea of how things will be in 2012.

“This was the first time we had worked together with other organisations on the water – and a test to see if we can talk to each other and communicate.

“We are talking by satellite phone and seeing if we can exchange data.

“The exercise was noticeable – but I think people would be expecting us to do this so that everything will be in place for 2012.”